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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232008">Make Him Proud</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nutterbutterco/pseuds/nutterbutterco'>nutterbutterco</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Powerpuff Girls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Angst with a Happy Ending, Explicit Language, F/M, High School, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:01:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>34,179</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nutterbutterco/pseuds/nutterbutterco</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing anyone in Townsville expected to hear was that the Rowdyruff Boys were trying to beat the Powerpuff Girls at their own game… crime-fighting. But what happens when a posh magazine gives the rival teams an offer they can’t refuse? Will the group survive a week together in close quarters? Or will their rivalry bring out a secret that could change the city of Townsville forever?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blues - Relationship, Boomer/Bubbles Utonium, Brick/Blossom Utonium, Butch/Buttercup Utonium, Greens, Reds - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Free Slurpee Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! I’m back with another fanfic and I’m super excited about it! This one is different from anything I have ever written thus far because I used an outline for once. Hopefully it will delay writers block for a while... </p><p>FYI: Chapters are long since there are three pairings in this fanfic and I want to give time to each of them. This means updates and new chapter postings might take a hot minute, sorry :( </p><p>Also I’m having this take place in 2020 because why not? </p><p>Okay that’s all! Thanks for reading if you got through all of this and I hope you enjoy the fic! I love hearing reviews from you guys, so don’t be shy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-- January 2020 --</p><p>
  <strong>Narrator: “The city of Townsville.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>A beautiful city home to a diverse group of citizens who, impressively, are all blissfully unperturbed by the large amount of villain and monster attacks that plague their daily lives. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Townsville is also home to the iconic crime-fighting trio called the Powerpuff Girls who are now seventeen years old! Ah, they grow up so fast!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Yes, Townsville is quite the busy place. However, today is an especially important day because as you can see, the Mayor is about to declare that the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys are now the two official crime fighting units of the city! How nice.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>...WAIT WHAT?!”</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The last thing <em>anyone</em> in the city of Townsville expected to hear was that after five years of radio silence the Rowdyruff Boys were back...</p><p> Not only that, but instead reverting back to their old ways, they were now competing against the Powerpuff Girls for the top spot in crime fighting!</p><p>It had been almost a year since the Rowdyruff Boys resurfaced in Townsville. The last time anyone had seen them was back when the girls were in middle school. They had reportedly gone to juvy after getting caught for a petty crime. It was so out of character for them to get caught for something so small, so it wasn’t surprising when a few weeks later, news broke out saying that they had escaped.</p><p>Days went by. Then weeks. No sign of them anywhere. The girls at first thought it was some sort of trick and anticipated their return, but after five Rowrdyruff-free years, their existance became another distant unpleasant memory. </p><p>By the time the girls entered high school, Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles had almost forgotten about that part of their lives. They’d laugh about it occasionally, remembering embarrassing moments or times when they had to defeat them using kisses. Otherwise, the girls had completely moved on with their lives…</p><p>That was… until the summer before their junior year of highschool…</p><p>-- July 2019 --</p><p>Bubbles sighed as she threw her phone to the side. Her friends had cancelled on beach day… again! Stupid monster sightings. Due to the damage the city has attained from years of battling monsters, the Mayor decided to ban the powerpuff girls from fighting monsters who are not an "immediate threat" to the city. However, seeing so much as an eye in the water meant that all beaches would be closed, which sucked because it was 90 degrees outside! Bubbles wished she could have just taken out the monster herself so she could finally have a long-deserved day of sand and surf, but knew she’d never hear the end of it from Blossom when she came home from later that day.</p><p>Blossom was currently on her way back home from a summer internship program in New York, figuring it would look good on her resume for college. Such an overachiever! But Bubbles couldn’t be more proud. </p><p>“Did they cancel on you again?” A gruff voice mumbled, accompanied by the clacking of a keyboard. Bubbles turned to face her miserable dark-haired sister. Apparently Buttercup’s grades were so low last year that she had no choice but to take summer school in order to raise her GPA. But that’s what you get when you become overly involved in the sports world and join the boy’s football team to prove a point. Although Bubbles had to give the girl some credit. Those boys had it coming. </p><p>“Yeah… there was a monster sighting,” Bubbles said with a sigh. Buttercup rolled her eyes.</p><p>“The Mayor’s new rule is bullshit. If you see a monster then there’s a high chance it could come on land and destroy Townsville. Just let us get rid of it early!”</p><p>“I agree, but they keep having to re-build that bridge over the ocean which probably costs a lot of money… I’d feel bad if it got destroyed during the fight.” </p><p>“It’s one bridge Bubbles. Which do you think they’d rather deal with? The reconstruction of a <em>tiny</em> bridge or the entire downtown area?” Buttercup asked, not looking up from her computer. </p><p>“The road I guess,” Bubbles replied quietly as she took off her sun hat and hung it up in their shared closet. </p><p>*SLAM*</p><p>Both girls suddenly perked up as they heard the familiar sound of the front door.</p><p>“I’m home!” Blossom called from downstairs. Bubbles gasped and flew out of the room with Buttercup on her tail. </p><p>“Blossom!” Bubbles threw her arms around her red-headed sister. </p><p>“Sup, Bloss,” Buttercup greeted coolly as she leaned against the wall. “How was the internship thing?”</p><p>“Amazing! I’ll tell you all about it when I get unpacked,” Blossom replied, indicating the enormous pink bag behind her. </p><p>“Is that Blossom I hear?” The Professor asked dorkily as he suddenly ran up from the lab to hug his oldest daughter.</p><p>“Hey Professor!” Blossom said with a smile. </p><p>“I can’t believe you’re all almost Juniors in high school… I could barely handle a month without you here Blossom! What am I going to do when all three of you are off at college?” The Professor asked tearfully as he joined Bubbles’ embrace of the Pink Puff.</p><p>“Bold of you to assume I’d even get in,” Buttercup said sarcastically. Bubbles giggled at this. </p><p>“You’re doing great in your summer classes Butters! I’m sure you’ll get into college!” </p><p>“Online maybe.” Buttercup said under her breath. </p><p>“Hey! There’s no wrong way to get an education,” Blossom lectured. Buttercup rolled her eyes.</p><p>“So are we going to help you unpack or what?” </p><p>“Yeah, let’s do it,” Blossom said with a huff as Bubbles and the Professor finally let go. Like clockwork, the trio flew upstairs with the suitcase in tow.</p><p>“Were there any cute boys there?” Bubbles asked with a giggle as they entered their shared room and began helping Blossom put her clothes away. </p><p>“I honestly wasn’t really paying attention,” Blossom replied casually as she hung up a few dresses.</p><p>“Yeah, not everything is about boys Bubbles,” Buttercup groaned.</p><p>“I know! But it’s still fun to talk about!” </p><p>“I mean… I guess the group’s supervisor wasn’t too bad looking,” Blossom said with a small smirk.</p><p>“Of course <em>you</em> would find an older man attractive,” Buttercup teased. Blossom was about to retort when her phone suddenly started ringing. </p><p>“Is it from the Mayor?” Bubbles asked, her expression hopeful. Maybe beach day wouldn’t be cancelled after all! Blossom pulled out her cell and looked at the caller ID before slowly nodding. Buttercup’s heart skipped a beat. Finally! There weren’t many villain or monster attacks recently due to the sweltering heat, so Buttercup had nothing better to do than her stupid online classes. A fight sounded amazing right then. </p><p>“Hello? Mr. Mayor?” Blossom asked as she halted her unpacking, preparing herself for whatever threat awaited her and her sisters.</p><p>“... um yes, Blossom? This is the Mayor.” The Mayor’s whimsical voice rang out through the phone.</p><p>“I know, sir.”</p><p>“Okay, I was just making sure. Anyways, Blossom?”</p><p>“...yes?”</p><p>“I have some news… and you’re not going to like it.” Blossom tensed, unsure what that meant.</p><p>“Go ahead, Mayor. Whatever it is, my sisters and I can handle it. Don’t you worry.” Buttercup started hopping back and forth on her feet in anticipation. <em>Hell yeah we can!</em></p><p>“...the boys… they’re back,” The Mayor finally said. Blossom knitted her brows. What did he mean by that?</p><p>“Who are you talking about? What boys-” Blossom suddenly stopped talking as she put two and two together. </p><p>“Blossom, what’s the threat?” Buttercup asked, a dark smile creeping on her face.</p><p>“Speak to us Bloss!” Bubbles added. The Mayor’s muffled voice continued to speak, but Blossom had stopped listening. It looked like she had gone into shock. Buttercup decidedly took the phone from Blossom’s hands and held it up to her ear.</p><p>“Bloss, what did the Mayor say?” Bubbles asked, pulling on Blossom’s t-shirt sleeve. Suddenly Buttercup made a slight squeak which was something neither of the girls expected to hear from her.</p><p>“They’re... back,” Buttercup half whispered. The Mayor was still rambling on the phone, but the girls tuned him out.</p><p>“Who?” Bubbles asked innocently. Buttercup turned to face her sister.</p><p>“The Rowdyruff Boys.”</p><p>---</p><p>The girls took off in a stupor, unsure what was ahead. Blossom tried her best to keep calm as her sisters did the same. What would they look like? Were they destroying the city already? Blossom had neglected to hear all of what the Mayor had to say, but regardless this was the Rowdyruff Boys. Whatever they were up to was bound to be destructive.</p><p>Buttercup had heard the Mayor mention something about a gas station, so after scouring the city of every possible location, they finally found their targets…</p><p>However, the scene before them was not what they were expecting to find. In fact, if they hadn’t known the Ruffs as the horrific villains they once were, they would’ve assumed they were just your everyday teenage boys drinking Slurpees. </p><p>Blossom landed first, eyeing the Ruffs up and down. They had gotten tall, especially Butch who looked like he was bordering 6 ft 3 and could bench twice his weight, accentuated by a loose-fitting black tank-top. Boomer had grown pretty tall too, though not as tall as Butch, and looked pretty much the same except his hair was a bit curlier than the girls remembered. Lastly, Brick, who was only slightly taller than Boomer, still sported that backwards red cap. His hair was now shoulder-length rather than the lengthly locks he had when they were children. His shorter hair was pulled into a low ponytail, most-likely from the heat.</p><p>Blossom strode up confidently to the three boys who were currently leaning against some parked cars near the entrance of the store. </p><p>“E-Excuse me!" Blossom blurted out, dumbfounded by the scene in front of her. "What in heaven's name are the three of you doing here?” </p><p>“Slurpees,” Brick replied casually without even looking at her. Blossom was taken aback by the deepness of his voice. <em>Had it really been that long?</em> </p><p>“W-Well you can’t just- you can’t show up out of nowhere and expect to...” Blossom was flustered, unsure what to do in this situation. </p><p>“The hell are you guys doing back in Townsville?” Buttercup suddenly cut in, crossing her arms.</p><p>“What? We aren’t allowed to support local businesses?” Butch asked smugly, causing Buttercup’s eyes to narrow. </p><p>“Hey Boomer! I haven’t seen you in a while,” Bubbles cut-in cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the tense scene around her as she waved to the blonde Ruff. </p><p>“‘Sup, Bubbles! Have you gotten a slurpee yet this summer? They just came out with a new flavor called- Oof!” Boomer groaned as Butch punched him hard in the stomach. Bubbles gasped, but held herself back from running to his aid. She knew her sisters were never keen on her past feelings towards the Blue Ruff.</p><p>“What my brother meant to say was <em>fuck off</em>.” Butch glared at the Puffs, taking a sip of his drink.</p><p>“So we’re supposed to just accept that you guys are back in town now? After years of being gone?” Blossom asked rhetorically, placing a hand on her hip. Brick shrugged.</p><p>“Do what you want.”</p><p>“So I guess we’ll see you guys tomorrow when you rob a bank then,” Buttercup spat, glaring daggers at Butch who winked at her in response.</p><p>“Not likely,” Brick said quietly. </p><p>Brick wasn’t lying. Blossom kept sitting by her phone that summer, waiting for the mayor to call in saying that the Rowdyruff Boys were destroying the city, but he never did. </p><p>It wasn’t long before the Rowdyruffs showed up at their high school. As confused as the girls were by their sudden appearance, they were even more confused by the fact that the boys hadn’t done anything <em>destructive</em> yet. In fact, Blossom was so shocked at how well the Ruffs were behaving that she decided to follow them home one afternoon. All she ended up discovering, however, was that they lived in a small studio apartment on the other side of town and that one of them owned a motorcycle. </p><p>The beginning of Junior year at Townsville High went by smoothly without any Rowdyruff related issues. Blossom shared a few classes with the boys and aside from a few snide remarks or angry glances, nothing destructive or detrimental ever occurred. Blossom still had a strong distaste and distrust for the boys, but at least she only had to see them for a few hours during school.</p><p>That was until Blossom received a surprising phone call from the mayor... </p><p>Blossom’s face fell when she heard the news. Mojo Jojo was destroying the city. Not only that... but apparently the Rowdyruff Boys were now fighting against him!? Blossom nearly dropped her cell-phone. <em>The Rowdyruffs? Fighting Jojo? Impossible! This had to be a mistake</em>. </p><p>“What’s going on?” Bubbles asked, seeing Blossom’s horrified face as she entered the living room. Buttercup also walked in, rolling up her sleeves to get ready for whatever fight the mayor had coming their way.</p><p>“The… the boys are fighting against…” Blossom began muttering nonsensically to herself. Buttercup had to slap her just to get her to come to her senses.</p><p>“The boys are fighting against Mojo Jojo!” Blossom exclaimed. Buttercup didn’t seem the least bit fazed. </p><p>“Bullshit. Jojo probably just said something stupid that set ‘em off. It’s not like they haven’t fought each other before,” Buttercup reassured. Bubbles, however, looked hopeful.</p><p>“What if they’re finally becoming good!”</p><p>“No, Buttercup is right. It’s probably just a misunderstanding. We should go either way. Knowing Jojo, the damage to the city won’t be minimal. Plus, I want to know what the boys are up to,” Blossom said before zipping out the front door, leaving a flash of pink in her wake. Green and blue flashes followed suit.</p><p>When the girls got to the center of the city they could see Mojo flying a teched out ship that was shooting lasers at the boys.</p><p>“What is the meaning of this! I am Mojo Jojo! Your creator! Your father! How dare you disrespect me!” Mojo’s yell echoed past the girls. “You have no idea the kind of power I have within my grasp! This laser will be your undoing because it is made of a power you could never comprehend and it is because of this lack of comprehension that you will perish!” </p><p>“So, it’s true?!” Buttercup asked in disbelief, watching as the boys began trying to destroy the ship. </p><p>“This still doesn’t mean they’re good! They’re probably just in each other’s way... or something,” Blossom rationalized.</p><p>“I don’t know sis, it looks pretty convincing to me!” Bubbles remarked in a sing-song tone. Blossom rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the scene in front of her. Mojo’s lasers were wreaking havoc on the city and seemed to be doing a bit of damage to the boys. Blossom watched as Butch tried to put up a shield to block one of the beams, but after a single blast, the laser cut right through it.</p><p>“That laser is pretty powerful…” Blossom muttered to herself, analyzing Mojo’s ship. </p><p>“So what do we do?” Buttercup asked.</p><p>“As much as I hate to say this… I think we need to help the boys beat Jojo.” </p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“Yay!” Bubbles exclaimed happily, resulting in some confused glances from her sisters.</p><p>“If that laser is made of what I think it is, it’ll probably take all six of us to stop it without completely pulverizing the city.” Blossom watched as Brick attempted to take out one of the lasers before being shot down, violently sent crashing into the streets below. “Once Mojo’s out of the way we can take care of the boys.”</p><p>“Oh I’ll take care of em all right,” Buttercup threatened, slamming her fist into her hand menacingly. </p><p>“Or we could try talking things out. Maybe we could all become friends!” Bubbles offered optimistically.</p><p>“Bubbles, that’s just stupid,” Buttercup groaned.</p><p>“All right, let’s get this over with.” Blossom sped toward the fight. Her sisters followed close behind until they were floating face to face with the green monkey, himself, who was safely located behind a thick sheet of glass in the ship.</p><p>“Well well well, if it isn’t the PowerPuff Girls. It is I, Mojo Jojo! And I am going to show you how-”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, we get it!” Buttercup yelled, not wanting to hear any more of his ramblings. She quickly threw the first punch, sending the ship careening into the side of a building.</p><p>“Buttercup!” Blossom seethed, watching as chunks of concrete came crashing down onto the streets below.</p><p>“What?! He was going to-” </p><p>“Who the hell invited you guys?” Butch suddenly flew toward them, causing the girls to stiffen. </p><p>“We could ask you the same thing! Why are you guys fighting Mojo?” Blossom asked, crossing her arms.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your business anyways,” Butch said in an arrogant tone.</p><p>“Last I checked, Townsville is <em>our</em> city which means that anything related to villain attacks <em>is</em> <em>our</em> business,” Blossom spat.</p><p>“Well then consider this as us doing you a favor. We’re helping Townsville get rid of its monkey problem.”</p><p>“No offense, but the last people we would trust to protect this city are you idiots,” Buttercup seethed. Butch’s eyes narrowed, but his smirk remained.</p><p>“Yeah you’re right. You guys are doing a <em>great</em> job. Hey if you hurry, maybe you can revive some of those dead people inside of that building you just smashed Mojo’s ship into.” Butch’s words caused Buttercup to shake with fury.</p><p>“You wanna go, asshole?” </p><p>“Pick the time and the place and I’ll be there babe.”</p><p>“You guys! Now’s not the time! We need to- oof!” Blossom was suddenly sent flying down into the street below by Mojo’s laser.</p><p>“Hahaha! While you were all distracted by each other’s idiocy, I, Mojo Jojo was able to blast you with my new state of the art laser, equipped with a super powerful ingredient! The ingredient is so powerful and so secret that the act of telling you what is within the laser would take away from how powerful and secret it is!” </p><p>“Wait, it’s Antidote X, right?” Buttercup asked before cutting off one of the wings with her laser-eyes. Mojo’s ship began to falter but not before a pair of long metal legs came shooting out from the bottom of the ship, planting firmly on the ground. </p><p>“Hahaha! Even if the ingredient was Antidote X, I would not tell you because it is a secret that I will use to defeat you!” Mojo yelled, causing the group to roll their eyes. </p><p>“Oh yeah, it’s totally Antidote X,” Boomer confirmed as he suddenly flew in, joining the girls and Butch in the air. “We had a similar encounter with it a while ago.” Butch instantly shot him a threatening look, but Boomer ignored him, smiling at Bubbles.</p><p>“Hey!” </p><p>“Hey!” Bubbles had a tinge of pink on her cheeks.</p><p>“Where the hell’s Brick?” Butch asked, trying not to vomit from watching the pair make ‘goo-goo eyes’ at each other.</p><p>“He got hit pretty hard by one of Mojo’s lasers and hit the ground somewhere over there. He’s probably fine,” Boomer replied without breaking eye contact with Bubbles. Buttercup wanted to gag too, so she busied herself by shooting green lightning down at Mojo’s ship. The ship lurched forward before a bunch of pods suddenly popped out from below the ship, opening up to reveal hundreds of laser-shooting robots!</p><p>“Hahaha! I always have more tricks up my sleeve! Mojo Jojo, will not be defeated by a bunch of color-coordinated teenagers!” Mojo declared as his ship began walking towards town hall.</p><p>“Oh no you don’t!” Blossom suddenly yelled as re-emerged from below and took hold of the ship, yanking it off the ground. Buttercup noticed her sister had some serious burns on her arms and chest from where the laser had hit her.</p><p>“Blossom, are you okay?” Buttercup called up to her sister who couldn’t seem to hear her. </p><p>“Did she get hit with the laser too?” A deep voice suddenly asked, causing Buttercup to jump in surprise before turning to see Brick, who looked more damaged than Blossom.</p><p>“Bro what happened to you?” Butch asked, taking note of his brother’s charred shirt and the giant burn stretching from his chin down to his stomach. </p><p>“The laser is somehow infused with Antidote X. We need to take it out before we start losing our powers,” Brick explained. </p><p>“There are also mini robots everywhere!” Bubbles added, looking down at the chaos below.</p><p>“Okay, here’s the plan!” Blossom suddenly cut-in as she rejoined with the group. She and Brick looked like they were matching now that the both sported laser burns which caused Butch to snicker. Brick quickly shot him a glare which shut him up real quick. Blossom cleared her throat.</p><p>“As I was saying, we need to take out that laser before more buildings are destroyed. We also need to keep the robots from infesting the rest of the city, so Buttercup and Butch I’m going to need you both on defense to take care of those things.”</p><p>“We’re working together?!” Butch cried.</p><p>“Aw what? I don’t want to work with <em>him</em>!” Buttercup crossed her arms.</p><p>“What makes you think I wanna work with you either, bitch?” </p><p>“Shut up asshole! Blossom, why can’t <em>I</em> take on Mojo?”</p><p>“Because you inflict too much damage on the city when you fight and I can’t risk another building being destroyed right now. Besides, Butch we really need your shields.”</p><p>“What makes you think you can order me around? I’m not wasting my time on fighting some stupid tiny robots,” Butch challenged.</p><p>“Look, I don’t understand why you and your brothers are fighting Mojo and frankly I don’t trust you guys one bit, but right now my number one priority is keeping Townsville’s citizens safe. If that laser contains Antidote X then it’s going to take all six of us to take Mojo on. My powers are already weakening, so the sooner you cooperate, the sooner we can finish this and be done with each other,” Blossom reasoned, rubbing her temples. </p><p>“Listen sweetheart, I only do what the boss tells me to do. So either Brick gives the order, or I go after the monkey,” Butch argued stubbornly, causing Blossom to clench her fists. All eyes were now on Brick who seemed extremely fixated on Mojo’s ship. He had a dark expression on his face. </p><p>“I’d normally hate the idea of us working alongside you Puffs, but considering the circumstances and the state my powers are in right now, we don’t really have much of a choice.” Brick responded without taking his eyes off the target. </p><p>“So what? We’re just letting Blossom be in charge?! This is bullshit! We were handling Jojo fine before they showed up!” Butch spat.</p><p>“Yeah, sure looks like it considering your leader looks like a roasted marshmallow,” Buttercup retorted.</p><p>“So does yours, bitch!”</p><p>“Stop calling me bitch!”</p><p>“Guys shut up! This would move a lot quicker if you’d just follow orders. Now Bubbles, you and Boomer will help rescue the citizens while Brick and I-”</p><p>“Blossom, don’t you think Boomer and I should take on Mojo since well… you and Brick got burned pretty badly by those lasers?” Bubbles suggested awkwardly.</p><p>“...I guess you have a point... Fine, take out Mojo, but please try not to do much more damage to the city. Brick, I guess you and I will be guiding the citizens to safety?” Blossom asked. </p><p>“No. I’m taking out Jojo.”</p><p>“What? But your powers-”</p><p>“No offense, but I’m not wasting my time directing traffic while that asshole is still breathing.”</p><p>“Wait, bro! Why do <em>you</em> get to take on the monkey! I’m in better fighting condition anyways!” Butch whined. Everyone quickly tensed when Brick finally turned  to look Butch in the eyes. Brick's eyes were glowing red and his expression was terrifying.</p><p>“Challenge me again and I’m going to make you wish Jojo had shot you with that <em>fucking</em> laser.” Brick had the look of someone who was out for blood. Butch noticed this and instantly backed off. </p><p>“Well I can’t evacuate all of the citizens out by myself!” Blossom cried, her burns starting to really sting.</p><p>“Not my problem,” Brick said harshly before flying away, leaving a flash of red in his wake.</p><p>“That asshole!” Blossom seethed. “Whatever. Everyone else go.”</p><p>“I’ll go with you Blossom, since Brick and Boomer will be taking on Mojo,” Bubbles offered kindly. Blossom gave her a small smile of thanks as everyone else sped off. </p><p>Boomer hesitated for a moment as he watched Bubbles and Blossom leave before heading straight toward Mojo’s ship/robot which was struggling to stand up. Brick was already there, having ferociously ripped out a few of the lasers attached to the monkey’s ship. Boomer decided to go for the legs, cutting them off with his laser eyes. Mojo retaliated by frantically shooting his remaining lasers at the pair, one of which sliced through Boomer’s left shoulder. He cried out in pain as Brick flew up to the laser and ripped it completely off of the ship, smashing it to the ground. </p><p>As Boomer held his shoulder, applying pressure to keep himself from bleeding out, Brick was continuously punching the exterior of the ship, leaving larger and larger dents. When he finally started to break through, Brick made a sound of pain.</p><p>“Ah! Fucker infused ‘X into the whole goddamn ship!” Brick was beyond mad at this point as he punched the ship even harder with his now bleeding fists. Inside, Mojo frantically tried to open the escape hatch before Brick finally smashed through the metal exterior and flew inside. </p><p>---</p><p>On the other side of town, Buttercup and Butch were busy on the ground fighting robots. Butch used his shields to block off all exits, cornering the bots into one intersection. </p><p>“How many of these damn things are there?” Buttercup asked as she punched through a robot’s head.</p><p>“This is the most boring fight I’ve ever had!” Butch complained, kicking another bot’s stomach in. “Why does Brick always pull this shit? Making me do the grunt work while he gets to have all the fun?” The pair fought in angry silence for a moment, kicking and punching and shooting oncoming bots. </p><p>“Same here,” Buttercup finally added. “Sometimes I never understand why I wasn’t put in charge. I’m the toughest fighter for fucks sake!” She began shooting green lighting at an oncoming horde of robots. “Jesus It’s like they’re multiplying.”</p><p>“Who? The leaders?”</p><p>“Dude how dumb are you?” Buttercup facepalmed before shooting a few more bots with her eye lasers. Suddenly Buttercup felt a sharp pain as something hit the side of her head. “Ow! What the hell?” She turned to see that Butch had thrown a robot at her.</p><p>“Real mature,” Buttercup seethed, before picking up an oncoming robot and chucking it right back at him, making sure to hit him square in the jaw. Butch stumbled back, surprised by her strength.</p><p>“Damn, maybe you should try out for the softball team,” Butch commented, rubbing his jaw. </p><p>“Try football team. Or did you not notice that I was the only female player?” Buttercup shot back, dodging an oncoming laser from one of the robots.</p><p>“I would’ve noticed if I gave a shit,” Butch retorted, chucking another metal body at Buttercup before laughing as she failed to simultaneously dodge his attack while fighting an oncoming pair of bots.</p><p>“You’re such a dick!” Buttercup yelled as she picked up the pair of robots she was fighting and threw them towards Butch at full speed, knocking him back. Buttercup burst out laughing as Butch nearly tripped when standing back up. </p><p>“Wanna bet?” Butch threatened, standing up and stalking towards her. Buttercup assumed a fighting position.</p><p>“Bring it on.”</p><p>---</p><p>A few blocks away, Blossom and Bubbles were doing their best to direct citizens to safety. Bubbles had helped the elderly out of their apartments as Blossom worked hard to direct traffic and fly citizens to the other side of town. Once the pair successfully cleared out every building within a ten mile radius of Mojo and his bots, Blossom collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.</p><p>With her adrenaline levels lowering, Blossom suddenly began to feel the terrible stinging pains from the burns she received. She decided to discreetly use her ice breath on her wounds so Bubbles wouldn’t be worried. Upon doing this, she felt some relief. <em>That asshole charging into battle with wounds like that. </em>Brick’s burns looked far worse than hers and she suspected his powers were weaker too. Why was he so determined? </p><p>Considering how secretive the boys were about their fight with Mojo, Blossom had every reason to suspect that it had something to do with an evil plan. Why else would they have returned to Townsville after disappearing all those years ago? Something was off about this whole situation and Blossom wasn’t about to be made a fool of by a bunch of dumb boys.</p><p>--- </p><p>Back by Mojo’s ship, Boomer’s powers were weakening. He struggled to fly as he held his torn shoulder. Inside the ship, Brick was finishing his fight with Mojo, who was refusing to go down easily.</p><p>“How dare you do this to me! I created you, you-”</p><p>“Shut the <em>fuck</em> up!” Brick slammed the monkey into the bottom of the ship, creating a crater. “I’m going to show you why you don’t <em>fuck</em> with-”</p><p>“Brick! Don’t!” Boomer yelled from outside the ship, “you’ll kill him!”</p><p>“Yeah, and? He’s been taking advantage of us for years! He should be dead for what he did to us!” Brick dealt another excruciating blow to the monkey, likely breaking his jaw.</p><p>“BRICK!” Boomer screamed. Brick ignored him, kicking the barely-conscious monkey in the stomach.</p><p>“I’m sorry…” Jojo wheezed out, but this only made Brick angrier.</p><p>“HE’S OUR FATHER!” Boomer screamed. Brick growled angrily before flying out of the ship at lightning speed, giving the monkey a chance to catch his breath.</p><p>“The <em>fuck</em> did you just call him?!” Brick grabbed Boomer by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. Boomer winced, but Brick didn’t blink twice at the Blue Ruff’s busted shoulder.</p><p>“I know he sucks… but he still created us Brick. We can’t kill him!”</p><p>“He tried to have <em>us</em> killed!” Brick said with grit teeth. “Or did you forget the little package he sent us?”</p><p>“I know, but he’s getting old. He’s never laid a finger on us before… it doesn’t make any sense!”</p><p>“I don’t give a shit what his reasons were. The asshole tried to kill us!”</p><p>“We shouldn’t be killing people Brick. I don’t want that on my conscience.” Boomer winced again as Brick’s grip on his collar tightened.</p><p>“I’m going back in there to finish the job, and if I hear another peep out of you about that <em>thing</em> being our father, you’re a dead man.” Brick let go of Boomer’s shirt abruptly and flew back into the ship. Boomer suddenly felt faint and fell to the ground, however his fall felt a lot cushier than he expected. </p><p>“Boomer!” Bubbles’ voice sounded above him. Despite the searing pain in his shoulder, Boomer still managed a small smile.</p><p>“Hey Bubbles,” Boomer said weakly. “Aren't you supposed to be helping Blossom?”</p><p>“We got done early. Are you okay?” Bubbles asked, trying to keep her voice calm despite watching the boy on her lap bleed out.</p><p>“GOD DAMNIT!” Brick’s frustrated cry suddenly rang past the pair. He quickly flew out of the ship and landed on the ground with a thud. Bubbles met his eyes which were still blazing. “Bastard got away!”</p><p>“Brick, Boomer is in serious need of medical attention. Do you guys have any Chemical X on you?” Bubbles asked, unfazed by Brick’s horrifying gaze.</p><p>“No. We used up our supply a few months back… thanks to that coward,” Brick seethed as he looked back at the ship. As he tried walking towards it, he faltered. His powers were almost completely drained at this point since his burns were twice as bad as Blossom’s. </p><p>“You need medical attention too, Brick. I’m going to take Boomer back to the lab if you want to-”</p><p>“I’m fine. Take him.” Brick waved her away. Bubbles hesitated, considering what the best course of action would be before determining that it would be impossible to carry two boys at once and that Boomer was in more critical condition.</p><p>Bubbles turned her attention back down to the Blue Ruff in her arms.</p><p>“Make sure to keep applying pressure, Boomer. Don’t worry, I’m going to take you to the Professor and he’ll fix you right up!”</p><p>“Where’s Blossom? Shouldn’t you be with her?” Boomer asked Bubbles weakly.</p><p>“She’s talking to the police right now. They should be over here soon,” Bubbles comforted before wrapping an arm around his waist to give him support to stand. “Let’s get you fixed up okay?”</p><p>“Were you always this nice?” Boomer’s words started to slur. Bubbles felt her cheeks tinge at this.</p><p>“I- er…” Bubbles was about to respond when she heard the familiar sound of sirens drawing near. Cops were quickly on the scene with a badly burned Blossom in tow.</p><p>As much as Blossom wanted to go home and get her burns properly taken care of, she knew she had to stay and answer questioning by the police and camera crews. </p><p>Bubbles took this opportunity to fly home with Boomer as fast as she could. She knew the Professor would be confused, especially since she was bringing home one of their sworn enemies, but she couldn’t allow him to bleed out.</p><p>---</p><p>Back at the house, the Professor had finally made himself some coffee and was just about to sit down and read the paper when he saw the front door slam open. </p><p>“Hello girls, how was the…” The Professor trailed off as he saw Bubbles carrying a familiar boy in her arms. His expression darkened. “Bubbles are you all right?” </p><p>“I’m fine Professor. This is Boomer. Remember him? He got badly injured with Antidote X in our fight against Mojo Jojo and I was hoping you could help heal him,” Bubbles said, her voice slightly shaking. Normally the Professor would hesitate before welcoming a known enemy into his home so suddenly, but seeing the look on his daughter’s face sent him straight into ‘nurturing dad-mode’. He took Boomer from Bubbles and brought him down into his lab.</p><p>“Is he going to be okay Professor?” Bubbles asked, her eyes glued to the blonde teen as he was laid down on a table.</p><p>“He’ll be just fine. I’m just going to give him a small dose of Chemical X to jump-start the cell rejuvenation process in his shoulder. Also when he wakes up, be sure to have him drink some juice. He’s lost a bit of blood, so his sugar levels will be fairly low.” The Professor handed her a juice box. Bubbles felt a bit of relief knowing he was going to be okay now. </p><p>“So are you going to tell me what happened?” The Professor asked in a more serious tone.</p><p>---</p><p>Back in the city, Buttercup and Butch had forgotten all about the robots and instead were hell-bent on making each other bleed.</p><p>“You fucking asshole,” Buttercup growled, spitting blood onto the sidewalk.</p><p>“You know, you’d be pretty hot if you weren’t such a tomboy. Maybe if you actually tried with your appearance you’d be noticed by guys instead of being mistaken for one,” Butch mocked, flying towards her and kicking her into the sidewalk. Buttercup grunted as she hit the ground, feeling the concrete tear up behind her.</p><p>“Gee, I thought Boomer was the ‘<em>dumber than the dumbest</em>’, but after that pathetic insult, I’d say he has some competition,” Buttercup spat, standing up and dusting off her clothes. Butch’s smirk faded a bit. Buttercup took this opportunity to shoot an energy ball right at him. Upon impact, Butch was thrown into the side of a building. Instead of a groan, however, Buttercup heard laughter. Butch was laughing like a maniac. He quickly flew down from the rubble and went straight for Buttercup who didn’t have time to dodge before he slammed her into a wall. Buttercup gasped for air as his hands tightened around her neck. Butch smirked as he watched her struggle. </p><p>“You sure know how to push the right buttons… don’t you <em>butters</em>?” Butch let his new nickname for her slowly roll off his tongue.</p><p>“The hell’s that supposed to mean you fucking perv?” Buttercup wheezed out as Butch’s grip tightened. She made a noise in protest.</p><p>“Oh don’t worry, I won’t kill you… if you beg.” Butch’s eyes were wide with excitement and Buttercup couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. But as much as Buttercup’s consciousness was screaming at her to comply and beg for her life, her pride wouldn’t let her. She was stubborn. More stubborn than Butch probably.</p><p>Instead of giving him what he wanted she looked him dead in the eyes, smirked, and choked out, “do it.” Buttercup wasn’t sure what would happen next, but when she suddenly felt his grip on her release, she was relieved. She felt herself fall to the ground, coughing and weezing. </p><p>“Jesus you’re boring,” Butch muttered, metal klanking as he kicked a few destroyed robots out of his way. Once Buttercup’s breathing went back to normal she glared back up at Butch and flew towards him, knocking him to the ground violently before placing a foot on his head to keep him there.</p><p>“And you’re a fucking coward.” Buttercup pushed down harder, causing Butch to grunt. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you get up… if you beg. Cowards like to beg don’t they?”</p><p>“That’s real cute Butters. When I get up, you’re going to regret it.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? How about a rematch? No powers. No bullshit.” Buttercup smirked. Butch was quiet for a moment, considering her offer. </p><p>“Heh, you serious?”</p><p>“Dead serious.”</p><p>---</p><p>Back on the scene, Blossom was stuck dealing with reporters and cops. She wanted to track down the Ruffs, but she knew she was in no condition to search for anyone right now.</p><p>“Is it true that Mojo Jojo was behind the attacks?”</p><p>“Why were the Rowdyruff Boys there?”</p><p>“Have the boys returned to wreak havoc on our city?!”</p><p>“Are the Powerpuff Girls going to continue working with the Rowdyruff boys?”</p><p>The questions kept rolling in, but Blossom was trained for this sort of thing. She wasn’t surprised by how much attention the scene had gotten considering the situation. </p><p>“As of right now we don’t know the motive behind Mojo’s attack. All we know is that he designed a ship to target our city,” Blossom responded calmly, despite the burns all over her arms and chest shooting insufferable pain throughout her body.</p><p>“What caused your injuries? And are you girls now partners with the Ruffs?” A newswoman asked.</p><p>“The injuries were caused by the weaponry on Mojo’s ship. As for your second question, we have yet to determine the reasoning behind the boys' actions. Once I find out more I will update the mayor.”</p><p>More questions ensued but they were fairly redundant. Blossom's entire body ached and stung and she had no idea where her sisters or the Rowdyruff Boys went. Suddenly, there was an uproar of voices as reporters caught sight of Brick in the distance. He looked like he was about to collapse as he leaned against a fire-hydrant for support. </p><p>In almost an instant the badly-burned teenage boy was surrounded by news-hungry reporters.</p><p>“Brick, as leader of the once-feared Rowdyruffs, how does it feel to work alongside the Powerpuffs to take down one of the biggest villains in Townsville?” </p><p>“Fuck off,” Brick growled through clenched teeth. </p><p>“What brings you boys back to town after such a long disappearance?”</p><p>“Does your fight against Jojo mean the boys are done with committing crime for good?” Another reporter asked.</p><p>“Jesus fuck- I don’t know!” Brick’s voice broke a bit. He looked like he was in immense pain.</p><p>“Does this mean you’re going to be fighting crime alongside the Powerpuff Girls?”</p><p>“If I say yes will you leave?” Brick managed, biting his lower lip to keep himself from crying out. His response made Blossom’s jaw drop. <em>He wasn’t serious.</em> She felt her blood boil at how excited the reporters seemed to be at the prospect of six superheroes instead of three. In retrospect, Monster Island had gotten a bit out of hand recently, and villain attacks were getting more violent and destructive, but working with the Rowdyruffs?! It sounded insane! There was no way the public was going to go for it. </p><p>Satisfied with Brick’s answer, the reporters left the scene. Once alone, Brick took off his cap and held it against his face to let out a muffled cry of pain. Blossom watched from a distance, unsure what to do. On the one hand, she wanted nothing to do with Brick since he was an arrogant asshole, who for all she knew, could be plotting her destruction. On the other hand, she hated to watch anyone in that much pain, especially if they didn’t have any healing powers. </p><p>Had Brick been shot by a normal laser, she would’ve just gone back home without giving him a second thought, but having been doused by Antidote X when she was young, she knew how long it could take for this boy to get his powers back without the help of a scientist. Blossom huffed, knowing she’d hate herself later, but her hero instincts took over and she felt herself walking over to the injured Ruff.</p><p>---</p><p>Back at the house, Bubbles had finally given the Professor the run-down on what had happened. He was just as confused as ever, but knew Bubbles wouldn’t have any definitive answers until Boomer woke up so he decided to go into the other room to finish up some work until the boy regained consciousness. </p><p>Bubbles sat in silence, laying her head against her arms on the table. As her mind wandered, she began thinking about Boomer. She remembered how excited she was to see him that summer, drinking a slurpee outside of the gas station. His cute puppy-dog smile when she said hi to him. What it was like to go to school with him. How much fun it was to have him in the same art class where they shared so many inside jokes. Why was he always so nice to her? His brothers were so mean and intimidating… So why was he different?</p><p>Bubbles began thinking back on what it was like to see him all the time when they were kids. She giggled slightly when she recalled the time she pretended to be Boomer for a day just to mess with his brothers. She also remembered the time she embarrassed Boomer by putting lipstick on his face and his hair in pigtails.</p><p>“What’s so funny?” Boomer’s weak voice rang out, jolting Bubbles to sit up. </p><p>“O-Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” Bubbles handed him the juice box. </p><p>“Like shit, but my arm feels a bit better… wait am I in your guys’ house?” Boomer asked, a twinge of excitement in his voice.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Oh my God, I totally remember this place! Remember when you kidnapped me that one time?”</p><p>“Ha! I was actually just thinking about that! It’s crazy how much time has gone by,” Bubbles remarked, looking around the room in nostalgic curiosity.</p><p>“I know. You guys looked so different back then. I almost didn’t recognise you when I first saw you,” Boomer remarked, taking a sip of his beverage.</p><p>“Wait really?”</p><p>“Well who wouldn’t? I mean your hair’s longer, your taller, you seriously looked like a model when I-” Boomer caught himself but it was too late. Bubbles’ felt her face heat up and she tried her best to cover it, making it look like she was hiding from him. </p><p>“Ah! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that, it just… slipped… out…” Boomer’s voice trailed off when Bubble’s eyes peered out from behind her hands to meet his. They were so blue and shiny, like staring into the ocean. Boomer was about to say something, but their moment was cut short by the Professor who slammed open the door to his office.</p><p>“H-Hey Professor!” Bubbles said awkwardly, quickly scooting away from Boomer. The Professor would have noticed if he wasn’t so focused on the ‘evil boy’ sitting in his lab. </p><p>“Hello sir, I’m-”</p><p>“I know who you are. Now if you want to continue talking to my daughter you are going to answer some questions. Also I’d advise against lying. Trust me, I’ll know,” The Professor threatened, causing Boomer to stiffen. </p><p>“No problem, sir.”</p><p>“Great. Let’s start with something easy. What brings you and your brothers back to Townsville?”</p><p>---</p><p>Citizens were lucky to have been evacuated from their homes before Buttercup and Butch started fighting again. Not that their homes were in any danger of being destroyed since they forfeited using their powers, but it wasn’t a pretty fight to watch. Buttercup had gotten the most punches in, but when Butch hit, he hit hard. He had the advantage of height and weight over her, so when it came to who was on the ground first, it was a no brainer. Nevertheless, Buttercup always stood back up. Even at the tail end of their fight with both parties bloodied and bruised, Butch missing a tooth, and Buttercup having dislocated her shoulder twice, they continued to stand their ground.</p><p>If anyone had caught them fighting, they would’ve probably mistaken them for zombies based on appearance alone. Buttercup smirked as she thought of a hypothetical scenario where someone would mistake her for a zombie before getting clocked in the jaw. She growled and lunged at Butch, deciding to play dirty as she pulled the bottom of his shirt over his head. He grunted as she kicked him in the stomach repeatedly before he fell to his knees. Thinking she had the upper hand, Buttercup went in for another hit before Butch grabbed hold of her legs and flipped her over, causing her to face-plant hard onto the concrete. She knew her nose was probably broken at this point, but still tried getting back up anyways. Thank god for Chemical X. As she put her weight on her arms to lift herself up, she found herself getting shoved back down into the pavement as Butch slammed his foot onto her back, holding her there.</p><p>“Getting tired yet?” Butch teased, digging his shoe harder into her back. Buttercup fought back the urge to cry out in pain.</p><p>“Not yet,” Buttercup wheezed before deciding to use her last bit of strength to turn herself around, grab hold of Butch’s leg, and flip him over onto the concrete. Her plan worked and she now had the upper hand, pinning him to the ground with her foot. She let up slightly, allowing Butch to move, but before he had time to recover, Buttercup delivered a few kicks to his stomach, causing him to grunt. </p><p>However, as soon as she shifted her weight for another attack, Butch anticipated it and used his strength to throw her to the ground before instantly pinning her beneath him. He sat on top of her, holding her legs tight beneath his as he held her arms above her head. Both parties were out of breath. </p><p>“Give… up… already...” Butch said between breathes.</p><p>“No… you… give up...” Buttercup wheezed.</p><p>“Stubborn bitch.”</p><p>“Stupid dick,” Buttercup retorted, trying to push him off of her before he suddenly collapsed on top of her. “Hey! What the hell! Get off asshole!”</p><p>“Too tired. Can’t move.” </p><p>“Are you being serious right now?!”</p><p>“Holy shit...” Butch breathed, ignoring her protests. His voice was muffled by her shoulder, “...that was actually a pretty good fight.” Buttercup didn’t know what to do in this situation.</p><p>“...yeah,” Buttercup eventually replied.</p><p>“I guess this means I won, huh?” Butch asked. She could feel that stupid smirk plastered to his stupid face. </p><p>“Can you get the hell off of me?”</p><p>“I’ll get off if you take back what you said earlier.”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then I’m not moving,” Butch said cockily. Buttercup groaned loudly, contemplating what was worse, admitting defeat or letting the dumbass continue to use her shoulder as a pillow..</p><p>“...Fine,” Buttercup breathed. “You’re not a coward. You’re a fucking idiot.”</p><p>“Takes one to know one.”</p><p>“What are you five?”</p><p>“And a half.”</p><p>“Ugh, get off.” </p><p>“<em>Five</em> more minutes.”</p><p>“...Is this your sad attempt at flirting or something?!” Buttercup regretted asking that the moment she said it.</p><p>“Why? Do you want me to?” Butch asked slyly, his voice was still muffled by Buttercup’s shoulder. She made a noise of disgust.</p><p>“So what is this then?” </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Most villains don’t end the fight by laying on top of me, asswipe.”</p><p>“Im NoT LiKe OthEr VilLaiNs,” Butch said in a mocking tone which caused Buttercup to smirk slightly despite all efforts to suppress it.</p><p>“Okay you can either get off of me, or I’m going to tell everyone at school that you have a weird fetish for laying on top of girls,” Buttercup said, trying to regain her tough demeanor.</p><p>“That’s not really a fetish though.” She could feel him smirking again.</p><p>“Well then I guess I’ll just have to tell everyone that you’re a fucking perv.”</p><p>“Go ahead, nothing new there,” Butch mocked. Buttercup rolled her eyes and another moment of silence engulfed the pair.</p><p>“Why the hell are you and your brothers <em>really</em> back in Townsville?”</p><p>“What?” Butch was caught off guard by her sudden question.</p><p>“You guys left a while ago and now you’re suddenly back. Why?” Butch didn’t respond. “Either you answer or I kick your ass.” Buttercup formed an energy ball in her hand threateningly. Suddenly Butch sat up. Buttercup looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Guess you’re gonna have to kick my ass another day, Butters.” Butch still had the same tone as earlier, but his mood had shifted slightly into something more serious. Buttercup was more than curious as to why. Before she could say anything, however, Butch stood up.</p><p>“I gotta go find my brothers. I bet your sisters are with them too,” Butch said before holding out a hand to Buttercup. She hesitated a moment, surprised by the polite gesture, but eventually grabbed it. As soon as he began helping her to her feet, however, he let go of her hand, causing her to fall to the ground. Butch burst into laughter, wiping tears from his eyes.</p><p>“Asshole! You are the most immature scumbag I’ve ever met!” Buttercup immediately stood up and punched him in the stomach.</p><p>“You make this way too easy Butters,” Butch sighed before flying away. </p><p>---</p><p>As much as Brick hated the idea of anyone helping him, least of all Blossom, the pain he was experiencing was on another level. </p><p>“Okay Brick, I can use my ice on you since I have some power left, but, in return, you have to tell me what’s been going on here. I can’t in good faith-”</p><p>“Fine! Yes! Whatever you want! Just do it already!” Brick cried out, splintering the wooden bench he was seated on with an iron grip. Brick just wanted the pain to go away. He didn’t care if he had to fucking <em>marry</em> the girl to get relief at this point.</p><p>Blossom quickly leaned forward and used her ice breath to cover up the Red Ruff’s burns. It took her a few minutes to cover them since they covered his entire chest and stomach area and she didn’t have much power left. It would have been more awkward if Brick was in a clearer state of mind and Blossom wasn’t so focused on getting the task done as quickly as possible.  When she was done, Brick breathed a sigh of relief and tilted his head back in exhaustion. The pain wasn’t completely gone, but it was <em>significantly</em> better than before. </p><p>“Thanks,” Brick breathed. Blossom was taken aback by this. She had never expected words like that to come out of his mouth, but nonetheless she gave a small nod.</p><p>“It’ll take a few days to fully get your powers back. Do you have ice powers? I’d recommend using it on your burns for the time being since normal ice might not be as effective,” Blossom suggested. </p><p>“No, all I got is fire which is kind of ironic.” </p><p>“Yes, that is definitely unfortunate.” Blossom agreed, letting silence engulf them before remembering what she needed to do. “So since you’re feeling better, how about you hold up your end of the deal and answer some of my questions.” Brick rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Fine.” </p><p>“Why are you back in Townsville?”</p><p>“Felt like paying the monkey a visit.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“He did something stupid so we needed to teach him a lesson.”</p><p>“What did he do?”</p><p>“Why do you care? It has nothing to do with you.”</p><p>“Last I checked, you agreed to answer <em>all</em> of my questions,” Blossom spat.</p><p>“Um, no. I agreed to tell you about ‘what happened here’,” Brick explained, using air quotes. “My issue with Mojo technically didn’t happen here, so I’m not telling you shit. You’ve gotta learn to be more specific in your bargaining, red.” </p><p>Blossom tensed at the pet name. “Fine! This is getting ridiculous. Is it true what you said in the interview?” </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“About you being done with crime and wanting to work with the Powerpuffs?”</p><p>“I wasn’t being serious. I just wanted the paparazzi off my back.”</p><p>“So you’re <em>not</em> done terrorizing this city? Why didn’t you attack it earlier then? You’ve spent half a year doing nothing but going to high school!”</p><p>“I meant I wasn’t being serious about the whole ‘teaming up with the Powerpuffs thing’,” Brick corrected.</p><p>“Wait… so you’re done with crime?” Blossom’s face softened. </p><p>“Something like that.”</p><p>“Why the change of heart?”</p><p>“Let’s just say I gained a new perspective after me and my brothers… relocated.”</p><p>“Where did you relocate? Why did you and your brothers suddenly disappear?” Blossom asked, her interest peaked.</p><p>“Once again, I don’t have to answer that.” </p><p>“I just did you a favor! You owe me <em>some</em> explanation for what happened!”</p><p>“Our fight with Jojo had nothing to do with us leaving. I don’t get why you’re so obsessed over it, we’re back ain't we?”</p><p>“Well I’m sorry if I find it hard to believe that you and your brothers are just suddenly done with crime after mysteriously disappearing for five years. Do you realize how crazy that sounds?”</p><p>“Well that’s <em>your</em> problem.”</p><p>“Brick, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m just going to have to assume that-” A gruff voice suddenly interrupted Blossom’s rant.</p><p>“Hey Bloss… Brick?” Buttercup’s voice trailed off when she saw the state the Red Puff was in.</p><p>“And where have <em>you two </em>been this whole time?” Blossom asked angrily, turning her attention towards them. She immediately noticed their ripped clothing and bruised faces.</p><p>“Fixed the robot problem,” Buttercup said, still eyeing Brick. “Anyways, we should get back to the lab to deal with your burns Blossom.” </p><p>“I’m fine. I need to finish my conversation with Brick about why they’re back in Townsville. He’s not telling me anything so I’m prepared to sit here all night until he does.” </p><p>“News flash, we’re not up to anything, babe. We did what we came here to do and now we’re going back to the apartment,” Butch said, extending a hand to Brick who quickly pushed it away and stood up on his own. </p><p>“Where’s Bubbles?” Buttercup suddenly asked, looking around.</p><p>“Yeah, I haven’t seen Boomer either,” Butch added. </p><p>“...we need to go to your lab,” Brick finally sighed, remembering that the blonde Puff had taken his dumbass brother there to heal his shoulder.</p><p>“Absolutely not! I don’t want you Ruffs anywhere near the Professor,” Blossom spat, putting her arms out to block them from leaving.</p><p>“Too late. Boomer’s already there,” Butch said, reading Brick’s face. Buttercup couldn’t help but smirk as Blossom rubbed her temples in annoyance.</p><p>“If you so much as look at the Professor, I won’t hesitate to send you both to the hospital. Do I make myself clear?” Blossom’s voice was dark. Butch gave a salute while Brick just stared at the ground. Blossom eyed the boys for a moment before turning on her heel and using Buttercup as a crutch to get back to the house. </p><p>---</p><p>The Professor, Bubbles, and Boomer were all seated on the couch in the living room as Blossom and Buttercup entered their home. From the looks of it, Boomer had seemingly won over the Professor who was laughing hard at something the Blue Ruff had said. Bubbles looked absolutely ecstatic that the pair were getting along so well.</p><p>“Boomer! What the hell are you doing here?” Butch asked as he slammed open the door, ignoring Blossom’s protests for him to wait outside. Boomer stood upright nervously. </p><p>“I- Uh…”</p><p>“His shoulder was torn and he was bleeding out. The Professor fixed him up!” Bubbles said cheerfully. Butch rolled his eyes. </p><p>Brick finally entered the house too and the Professor stood upright when he saw the state of him and his eldest daughter. </p><p>“My goodness, what happened to you two?!”</p><p>“Mojo Jojo had a laser laced with Antidote X,” Blossom said tiredly. </p><p>“We need to get you two down to the lab right away!” The Professor said frantically as he pushed Blossom and Brick in the direction of the lab.</p><p>“I’m fine Professor, it can wait. There are more pressing matters to deal with right now, like why these boys are back.” Blossom sent a glare to the Ruffs who averted her gaze, most likely not feeling super comfortable inside of the home of their once sworn enemies.</p><p>“Um… thank you for helping my brother heal his shoulder, sir,” Brick finally said as he awkwardly trudged toward the Professor, extending a hand. The girls watched in shock as their own father shook it.</p><p>“But Professor-” Blossom was cut off.</p><p>“Not a problem at all. If you are anything like Boomer here then you’re welcome in my home any time!” The Professor said, causing Blossom to gasp.</p><p>“What?! Professor you can’t be serious.”</p><p>“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not what it seems. Boomer cleared everything up for me,” The Professor said proudly. Blossom was not convinced. Buttercup was also suspicious as she turned and swiftly grabbed the collar of Boomer’s shirt menacingly.</p><p>“What the hell did you do to him?!”</p><p>“Nothing! I just told him the truth!” Boomer squeaked. Bubbles ran to his aid and pushed Buttercup off of him.</p><p>“Buttercup! He’s not the enemy! None of them are!”</p><p>“Will someone <em>please</em> tell me what on earth is going on?!” Blossom asked, confused and enraged.</p><p>“The hell did you tell him?!” Butch seethed, yanking Boomer towards him. </p><p>“Relax! All I said was that we came back to Townsville because we didn’t want to seem like failures-”</p><p>“Wait hold up. What?” Buttercup interrupted, completely shocked. Butch, however, snapped.</p><p>“Goddamn it Boomer, you couldn’t keep your mouth shut for one goddamn minute?!” </p><p>“I’m sorry! He had a right to know!”</p><p>“What is he talking about?” Blossom asked, eyeing his brothers intently.</p><p>“Alright everyone, let’s settle down. Boomer do you want to tell the girls what you told me?” The Professor asked calmly. Boomer nodded nervously.</p><p>“Look, back then we were reminded constantly that we existed for one purpose... destroying you guys.”</p><p>“And?” Buttercup asked, eyebrow raised. </p><p>“Brick… can you take over?” Boomer asked, intimidated by Buttercup’s intense stare. Brick sighed.</p><p>“Back then we were different people… we left because we realized how pointless it was to waste our time trying to defeat you guys when the people who created us couldn’t even do it...” </p><p>The girls were watching Brick intently as he spoke. Butch and Boomer looked slightly concerned. </p><p>“So we figured leaving Townsville was the best thing for us to gain a new perspective and whatnot. It worked, so we figured we may as well come back and try to make something of ourselves.”</p><p>“So then what was that fight with Mojo about?” Buttercup asked, crossing her arms.</p><p>“A couple months ago we got sent a bomb in the mail filled with Antidote X… not sure why, but only Mojo would be dumb enough to do something that fucking stupid.” </p><p>“That does sound like something he would do…” Bubbles said quietly, reminiscing the time Mojo sent them a present for their birthday that turned into a giant robot.</p><p>“Guys can we hold off on the language while we’re in my house?” The Professor asked sternly. Everyone nodded.</p><p>“Sorry Professor,” Blossom apologized, causing Brick to roll his eyes. </p><p>“Anyways, my brothers and I just want to move on from the past and make a new name for ourselves.”</p><p>“I mean, we have superpowers for Christ’s sake!” Boomer cut in. “Why not use them to fight against giant assholes like Jojo who only see us as a means to an end.” </p><p>“...yeah. What he said,” Butch finally agreed. Boomer let out a sigh of relief, but Butch still held a glare on him. </p><p>“So that’s it? You guys are just done with crime and now you want to play hero?” Blossom asked in a mocking tone.</p><p>“We’re not playing hero. We’re getting back at those assholes who took advantage of us. What revenge is better than becoming the very thing your parents spent their whole lives trying to destroy?” Butch asked. </p><p>“I think it’s a great idea! See Bloss? I told you they were good!” Bubbles exclaimed, hugging her sister’s arm.</p><p>“Wait, I thought you said you only told the press you were teaming up with us to get them off your back!” Blossom protested, pointing a finger at Brick. He began rubbing his temples in annoyance.</p><p>“This doesn’t mean we’re teaming up with you guys.” </p><p>“Aw! Why not?” Bubbles asked in a pout.</p><p>“Because you guys are only going to hold us back,” Butch said with a smirk. Buttercup cracked her knuckles.</p><p>“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that, dumbass. There can’t be two hero teams in Townsville. It makes no sense.” </p><p>“Well then I guess we’re just going to have to let the better team win.” Butch still had that stupid smirk plastered on his face, thinking he looked like hot shit.</p><p>“As much as I’d love to hear more about this new path you boys have decided to take, Brick, Blossom, those are some nasty burns. How about you come down to the lab and we can get you both some Chemical X,” The Professor suddenly said, walking towards the entrance of the lab and gesturing for them to follow. Blossom walked to the lab door without hesitation but Brick stood a minute, weighing his options. Eventually he decided that not having powers for a few days was an inconvenience he didn’t feel like dealing with, even if it meant being in close proximity to <em>her</em>. </p><p>As Butch watched his older brother and the Pink Puff disappear down the Lab stairs, Butch made some lame excuse and pulled Boomer outside and out of earshot from the girls.</p><p>“Okay, it looks like they bought it… you’re damn lucky big bro is such a good liar or we’d be fucked by now,” He said through grit teeth.</p><p>“…Butch are you sure we should still be doing this? I mean, Bubbles and the Professor saved my life!”</p><p>“Who gives a shit! It’s their fault for trusting you so easily. Besides, we didn’t move back to Townsville to enroll in fucking high school for a goddamn monkey, did we?”</p><p>“No… It’s just that…” Boomer trailed off as he directed his gaze back at the house. </p><p>“Just what?” Butch pulled Boomer closer.</p><p>“It’s not fair to do this to them, Butch. It’s been so many years since we left.”</p><p>“Not fair?! I’ll tell you what’s not fair.” Butch grabbed Boomer by his shirt collar and flew them up in the air, so as not to have anyone hear. “What’s not fair is that we’re finally being given a chance to redeem ourselves and gain <em>his</em> respect and you want to pussy out!”</p><p>“But the girls helped us, Butch! I-I don’t think I can do this. We have to tell them!” Boomer felt a lump in his throat.</p><p>“You better not say shit to them, Boomer. You know what boss will do to you if you fuck this up for us,” Butch threatened darkly. Boomer gulped, knowing his brother wasn’t joking. Brick was honestly scarier than Butch to him. </p><p>Butch gruffly let go of his shirt collar and flew back down to the house. Boomer watched him go, thinking of Bubbles. Why was he being forced to hurt her? How could he ever lay a hand on her after what she did for him?! </p><p>As much as he hated the thought of it, Boomer knew he needed to distance himself as much as he could from her before things got worse. He’d be too guilt ridden otherwise. But even then, Boomer knew it wouldn’t take much for him to crack, especially if he hurt Bubbles’ feelings.</p><p>--- </p><p>Down in the lab the Professor had given Brick and Blossom a heavy dose of Chemical X to heal their wounds. As they waited for the effects to kick in, the Professor tried and failed to make small talk with the pair who was adamant on not looking at or speaking to each other. Eventually the Professor went down to the lower levels of the lab to finish a project, leaving the two teenagers alone in silence. </p><p>The pair were seated on gurneys placed side by side, so it was hard to keep each other out of view. Blossom passed the time by planning out the rest of the week in her head while Brick became fascinated with how many tiles the floor had. After a while, however, the pair became annoyed with each others’ presence and the deafening silence between them. </p><p>Blossom decided to break the silence first. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth earlier? It wasn’t that big of a deal.” </p><p>“Because I don’t <em>have</em> to tell you anything,” Brick said in a cold voice. “I don’t get why you’re being such a hard-ass about it. We beat up a goddamn supervillain and you’re still trying to make us out to be the bad guys.” Blossom rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Well you’re the one who’s been acting all secretive. If you’d just told me a simplified version of it earlier I would’ve believed you!”</p><p>“I <em>did</em>.”</p><p>“Oh yeah, sorry. I should’ve known that, ‘Jojo doing something stupid and you needing to teach him a lesson’ mean’t that he had mailed you a bomb with Antidote X in it. <em>My</em> mistake,” Blossom said sarcastically. Brick grit his teeth.</p><p>“You know what your problem is?” </p><p>“Choose your words carefully Rowdyruff,” Blossom threatened. Brick scoffed.</p><p>“You’re so fucking obsessed with being Townsville’s perfect leader that you act like you have to control everything and everyone when the tiniest things don’t go your way. God forbid us ‘villains’ have a change of heart and do your jobs <em>for you</em>!”</p><p>“Oh, you want to go there? Okay Brick. Let’s talk about <em>you</em> and your idiotic brothers who have been nothing but incompetent <em>wanna-be villains</em> since we were in kindergarten! You’d think by now you guys would have at least matured a little bit, but no! Deep down you’re still the same immature and <em>stupid</em> four year olds we had to clean up after when we were kids!”</p><p>“Oh, <em>we’re</em> the immature ones who have been constantly nagging about why a group of people would change their minds about crime after FIVE YEARS of living outside of Townsville? Also the fuck do you mean by, ‘<em>wanna-be villains</em>’? You and your sisters can barely take on all three of us and always resort to cheap tricks when we attack!”</p><p>“And yet, we <em>beat you</em> regardless. No wonder you and your brothers left Townsville. I’d run away too if I was a complete and utter failure like you three,” Blossom spat. This struck a nerve in Brick as he clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. </p><p>“Don’t act so high and mighty, red. People around here are getting bored of you and your sister's perfect image. I can tell. Did you see how excited the reporters got when they heard about the prospect of <em>us</em> fighting crime? Wouldn’t be surprised if you guys got cut out of the picture in a few years.”</p><p>“I highly doubt that a city like Townsville would tolerate trash like yourselves protecting its streets. Why did you leave the city anyways, Brick? I’m curious.”</p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p>“Oh, I think I know what happened. Let me guess, you and your brothers failed so much that your fathers were embarrassed by your very existence and banished you. Now you blame yourself for what happened since <em>you</em> were such a <em>bad leader</em>, so you decided, ‘hey, I’m going to move back to Townsville and beat up Mojo Jojo to make everyone like us! Maybe then I won’t feel like such a failure’!” Blossom mocked before laughing hysterically. Brick snapped. He stood up and grabbed the collar of her shirt, yanking her towards him threateningly.</p><p>“We did you Puffs a <em>fucking</em> favor!”</p><p>“Oh yeah, thank you <em>sooo </em>much for taking out Mojo Jojo, the <em>weakest villain in Townsville</em>! If it was <em>Him</em>, maybe I’d be a bit more grateful. But the monkey?! Are you kidding me?!” Blossom shoved him backwards so he lost his grip on her shirt as she stood up.</p><p>“Well at least I have the guts to try and get rid of that monkey <em>permanently</em>! How many times have you <em>‘stopped’</em> Mojo? Because last I checked he breaks out of prison. <em>Every. Fucking. Time!</em> You Powerpuffs are the equivalent of a bandaid on a broken arm! You never actually stop the villains, you just slap them on the wrist and then act all surprised when they keep coming back! Maybe it’s time for Townsville to get some real heroes!”</p><p>“No one likes heroes that kill Brick. <em>No one!</em>”</p><p>“Well maybe they don’t know what they’ve been missing since all they’ve had for protection are three little girls playing dress up!” Brick spat back. Blossom’s eyes widened. Her face reddened. She felt a lump in her throat. Before Brick could say anything else she slapped him hard across the face. </p><p>“You asshole,” Blossom said shakily. Before Brick could respond, the Professor slammed the door open.</p><p>“What in heaven’s name is going on in here?!” The Professor asked, running over to his now crying daughter. Brick had seen enough. He didn’t even wait for the Professor to say anything as he flew out of the lab in a flash of red. When his brothers noticed him leaving, they said their awkward goodbyes and followed suit. </p><p>---</p><p>Back in the apartment, Brick angrily threw his charred shirt in the trash, pulling on a new one as his brothers came through the window. </p><p>“What happened down there boss?” Butch asked, noticing the faint red-mark on his brother’s cheek.</p><p>“Nothing important.” Brick went into the kitchen to grab some leftovers from the fridge.</p><p>“Brick… I’m sorry about telling the Professor. He was just so threatening and Bubbles was...” Boomer trailed off as Brick looked up at him.</p><p>“You didn’t jeopardize the mission and you got the Professor to trust us, so don’t worry about it.” Brick sounded tired, but Boomer knew it was now or never to bring up his hesitancy about the mission.</p><p>“About the mission…”</p><p>“Oh god, don’t start this again,” Butch groaned as he laid on the couch. Brick raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Look, I don’t mean to go against all our hard work, but, I mean after today, can you still say the Powerpuffs deserve to be wiped out? Without their help we could have been in serious trouble with Mojo. Bubbles literally saved my life!” Boomer said as he watched his older brother rub his temples in irritation.</p><p>“Boomer, I want you to think back on when we were twelve years old and in juvy. Why do you think we were there?”</p><p>“What?” </p><p>“Why were we in juvy, Boomer?”</p><p>“...Because we were caught?” Boomer asked cautiously as his red-headed brother floated towards him.</p><p>“No, we were put in juvy because we <em>failed</em>. Do you remember why we even left Townsville in the first place?” Boomer didn’t answer as he stared down at his feet. Brick continued.</p><p>“Let me ask you another question then. Why were we created?” Butch was now watching his brothers intently from behind the couch. </p><p>“... to destroy the Powerpuff Girls,” Boomer said reluctantly.</p><p>“Great, so you’re following me so far. Here’s another easy one, who do you think graciously reincarnated us after our very first encounter with the Puffs?”</p><p>“...Him.” </p><p>“And why do you think he reincarnated us? To rot in juvy? To fail at the one job we were <em>created</em> to do?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then tell me, why the <em>fuck</em> do you want to back out now!? After all the hard work we did to gain His respect after he <em>disowned</em> us! Everyone saw us as a big joke because we couldn’t take out three little girls, Boomer. We were the laughing stock of this whole fucking city! I’m responsible for our failure… I know that now, which means it’s my responsibility to get us back on track.” Brick gripped his brother’s shoulders tightly, forcing him to make eye-contact. “He’s giving us a second chance to redeem ourselves and this plan is our ticket there. Look me in the eyes and tell me you want to give all of that up just because some blonde chick patched up your arm.” </p><p>“...I guess you have a point,” Boomer finally said, clenching and unclenching his fist. </p><p>“Good. Don’t be stupid, Boomer. We’ve worked way too goddamn hard for this to be over already.”</p><p>“So where do we go from here?” Butch asked, getting up. </p><p>“In order for phase three to work, we need to put on a show and make sure this town thinks it’s got something better than the Puffs to protect it, so you both need to keep acting like everything’s normal.” Boomer nodded slightly, but was staring down at the floor in thought.</p><p>---</p><p>Saying things went back to normal after that day for the girls was a lie. The boy’s weren’t kidding when they said they were going to try to “out-hero” them. The Mayor actually took to the boys’ more aggressive tactics and eventually split up the work by giving specific crimes to each team. The boys typically handled crimes that included drug deals, robbers, and murderers while the girls took on monsters and larger-scale attacks. This constant back and forth battle between the teams over who was the “better hero” lasted until the end of their Junior year.</p><p>A monster suddenly came in that was too much for the girls to take on at once. The fight didn’t last long when all six heroes (reluctantly) worked together. When the monster was finally defeated, the Mayor decided it was time to formally acknowledge the boys as a part of Townsville’s defense.</p><p>And that brings us to:</p><p>-- January 2020 --</p><p>
  <strong>Narrator: This is a big moment that will no doubt go down in Townsville’s history! The Mayor is now about to declare that the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys are both allies and the two official crime fighting units of the city! Never before has Townsville heard of a villain team turning to the side of good! But what does this mean for the future of our home... and the girls?</strong>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Stir Fry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The last thing anyone in Townsville expected to hear was that the Rowdyruff Boys were trying to beat the Powerpuff Girls at their own game… crime-fighting. But what happens when a posh magazine gives the rival teams an offer they can't refuse? Will the group survive a week together in close quarters? Or will their rivalry bring out a secret that could change Townsville forever?</p>
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  <em>Immediately continued from the last chapter--</em>
</p><p>The Mayor began placing medals on all six of the heroes before jumping onto the podium to deliver a speech -- graciously written for him by Ms. Bellum.</p><p>"It is my honor to formally declare that these six heroes will be helping to keep our city safer. I am pleased to announce that ever since the Rowdyruff boys returned, crime levels have dropped significantly in the last year. The boys say they fight for justice to prove a point to the villains who raised them, but I say it's because of their love for this city and for its people…" The Mayor rambled on as the team of six stood behind him awkwardly. They may have all been fighting on the "same side" but they were still rivals. Each time a crime was stopped by either of the teams, their counterparts would always keep score or find little ways to critique how the crime was handled. At this point, it was a full-on competition to see who could save the most people or prevent the most damage.</p><p>This rivalry, of course, was primarily due to Blossom and Brick whose hatred for each other had grown exponentially since their fight in the lab. They hardly acknowledged each other's existence at this point.</p><p>Butch and Buttercup also had a rivalry, but there's was more fueled in competition. While they weren't friends, they were definitely more friendly with each other than their older siblings. Buttercup was honestly surprised at how easy it was to be in the same room as her cocky counterpart during school, and when it came to talking shit, the pair realized they could make each other laugh pretty damn hard.</p><p>Bubbles and Boomer used to be friendly towards each other, but since their fight with Mojo, Boomer was determined to keep his distance from the Blue Puff. This translated poorly for Bubbles, who thought she had done something wrong and made him upset with her.</p><p>When the ceremony was finally over, Brick ripped off his medal and threw it into a nearby trash can. Blossom noticed this and rolled her eyes. <em>If he hates the attention so much then why did he decide to become a hero in the first place?</em></p><p>As the rest of the team slowly made their way off the platform, they were suddenly swarmed by hundreds of reporters. Brick scowled, but Blossom put on her best smile to address the crowd.</p><p>“Blossom, how does it feel now that you have to share the stage with your once sworn enemies?” A reporter asked, pointing her microphone towards her.</p><p>"Working in a dangerous field means that sacrifices must be made. If fighting alongside the Rowdyruff Boys is what it will take to continue to protect this city, then my sisters and I are willing to do so." The rest of the team could tell she was struggling to keep her tone neutral as she spoke about the Rowdyruffs.</p><p>“What about you Brick? Any thoughts?” Another reporter asked, catching the redhead off-guard.</p><p>“Uh… what she said I guess,” Brick replied awkwardly. Behind him, Butch was watching his brother struggle and let out a snicker, causing Brick’s blood to boil.</p><p>“So what’s it like being a hero?” A reporter interrupted.</p><p>“What motivated you to suddenly change your ways?” Another chimed in. Brick took off his hat and wrung it in his hands. It was a tick he’d developed over the years whenever he felt overwhelmed.</p><p>Brick finally managed to answer one of the questions. “...We just want to help create change for Townsville.”</p><p>“What is your response to the Mayor’s speech?”</p><p>"It was cool. Nice to know we're being taken seriously around here," Brick replied. Blossom rolled her eyes at the fact that the press was eating his words up.</p><p>“Some people are concerned about your more aggressive approach to fighting crime. What do you have to say to this?” Another reporter chimed in. Brick was feeling more confident now.</p><p>“This city has so many threats that weren't really taken care of in the past. I’m not saying it’s okay to kill, but when there’s a villain that continually breaks out of prison and threatens the lives of Townsville’s civilians, a slap on the wrist isn’t going to solve the problem. We haven’t killed anyone yet and, trust me, we don’t want to, but should the situation arise, me and my brothers won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done.”</p><p>“And what do the Powerpuff Girls have to say about all of this?” All eyes turned to Blossom and her sisters as Brick breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>"My sisters and I have served this city since we were children. Monsters are one thing, but when it comes to criminals and supervillains, there is always a better option than killing. If the Rowdyruffs and the Mayor think that locking villains up isn't good enough, that's on them. The Powerpuff Girls will always be dedicated to serving this city and trying to find the good in even the evilest of villains," Blossom's words were sharp and clearly targeted at her counterpart, but Brick wasn't listening.</p><p>“Speaking of villains, any word from Mojo Jojo? Wasn’t he your father?” A reporter suddenly asked, turning to Brick. He instantly stiffened.</p><p>“...No comment.”</p><p>“What do you think he would say about you and your brothers now that you’re working with the Powerpuffs?” Another reporter asked, pointing her microphone towards him.</p><p>“Why does that even matter?” Brick snapped, pushing the microphone away. Butch put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Bro…”</p><p>“Shut up.” Brick ripped his brother’s hand off before turning his attention back to the reporters.</p><p>“The monkey is irrelevant. Be grateful that you have three less villains in Townsville and stop trying to spin this into some kind of family drama ‘PR’ bullshit!” Brick snapped. His eyes glowed red slightly, causing the reporters to jump back in fear. He noticed this and scoffed.</p><p>“Butch will be answering all further questions,” Brick pulled his younger brother forward as he turned on his heel. The group watched in silence as he walked away. Butch sent a concerned look to Boomer who shrugged in response.</p><p>Despite being frightened, the reporters slowly began muttering to each other about ratings and headlines, some even mustering up the courage to call out to Brick before he took off. Brick flipped them off as he flew away.</p><p>"So what's next for you and your brothers, Butch?" A beautiful female reporter suddenly asked, catching the group off guard. Butch's mood was instantly lifted as he began eyeing the gorgeous specimen in front of him, a small smirk growing on his face. Apparently, he stared for a bit too long as Buttercup kicked him from behind.</p><p>“O-Oh… sorry, what was the question?” Butch asked, shooting a glare at his counterpart. Buttercup pretended to gag.</p><p>“I just asked what you were planning on doing next.”</p><p>“You,” Butch said in a serious tone. The woman clearly couldn’t tell if he was joking or not because she just repeated the question again. Blossom rubbed her temples while Bubbles held Buttercup back to keep her from making a scene. Boomer quickly stepped in, shoving Butch out of the way.</p><p>“I’m so sorry about him. He only has one brain cell and has clearly forgotten that we are being <em>broadcast</em> on <em>live television</em> in front of <em>hundreds</em> of people.” Boomer said the last part under his breath to Butch who rolled his eyes.</p><p>There weren’t many more questions after that, so the Puffs and the Ruffs went their separate ways. Bubbles, however, lingered a moment, waiting for Boomer who was hastily tying his shoe. As soon as he noticed her waiting, however, he seemed to move slower.</p><p>“Don’t wait for me, Bubbles. You can go ahead.”</p><p>"No, it's fine. I don't mind," Bubbles said airily. She was hoping that by acting ignorant, he would eventually tell her what was bothering him… that was her working strategy anyway.</p><p>Hesitantly, Boomer finished tying his shoes and flew silently over to her. The pair continued to fly in silence till they reached the end of the street. Bubbles could feel herself tense up the longer neither of them spoke.</p><p>“So, what did you think of that ceremony?” Bubbles suddenly asked. Boomer looked caught off-guard by her question.</p><p>“Oh… it was nice of the Mayor to do that,”</p><p>“Yeah…” Bubbles trailed off, as she noticed his speed slightly quickening to fly ahead of her. What was she doing wrong? Was he mad at her or something?</p><p>“Hey!’ Bubbles called after him, causing him to stop in his tracks. Bubbles felt color rise to her cheeks. <em>Shoot, I don’t have anything to say…</em></p><p>“Yeah?” He asked, his voice laced with caution.</p><p>“I-Is Brick okay? He seemed… upset.”</p><p>“Yeah, he’s fine. He just hates public speaking.”</p><p>“Huh, I would never have guessed that, judging by his usual attitude,” Bubbles said thoughtfully. Boomer nodded slightly.</p><p>"Yeah, he's really good at playing it cool. He kind of has to though since he's the leader. I'm sure Blossom probably does the same thing."</p><p>“Huh, I’ve never thought about that before...” Bubbles remarked. Boomer nodded again, this time without eliciting a response. Bubbles also noticed his speed was slightly increasing again as he started to pass her. Bubbles felt her heartbeat quicken. <em>He’s going to leave</em>.</p><p>“Boomer…” She moved her hand out slightly to stop him. He turned to look at her. She still hadn’t planned what to say, so she decided to say whatever popped into her head first.</p><p>Do… do you like bubble tea?” Bubbles heard herself ask. <em>Bubble tea?! Seriously?! What am I thinking?</em> Bubbles squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. Her heart was beating a mile a minute.</p><p>“...I don’t know what that is. Is it like carbonated tea or something?” Boomer asked. Bubbles opened her eyes to meet his confused look.</p><p>“No. haha! It’s tea with tapioca pearls in it. It’s really good.”</p><p>“Oh. That’s cool,” Boomer said awkwardly, putting his hands in his pockets. Bubbles couldn’t tell if he was waiting for her to ask something, or if he was just eager to leave.</p><p>“Well… if you’re not busy maybe we can go get some? It’s kind of hot out, and it’s a pretty refreshing drink,” <em>It’s freezing outside you moron!</em> </p><p>“Sorry, I can’t right now.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s fine. We can always go later in the week if you wanted to.”</p><p>“I’m probably going to be busy all week though. I just got a new job...”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“Sorry. I’ll see you around, Bubbles.” Boomer said, hesitating a moment as if he had something more to say before swiftly flying away. Bubbles felt her heart drop. <em>I’m such an idiot. What did I expect him to say?! </em>Bubbles continued to internally scream at herself as she flew home. This was the most embarrassed she’d felt in a while.</p><p>---</p><p>Blossom was grateful to get some much-needed relaxation as she finally sat down on the couch. She had brewed herself her favorite tea, grabbed a fluffy blanket, and one of her favorite books from her bedroom. To add to the coziness, it had started to rain outside. Blossom always loved the sound of rain when she slept, so sitting on the couch with a book and some tea was definitely a welcomed experience.</p><p>*SLAM*</p><p>The sound of the door slamming jarred her from her cozy state. Blossom looked up in surprise to see Bubbles standing there soaking wet with a defeated look on her face.</p><p>“Hey Bubs… you okay?” Blossom asked in a concerned voice. As if this question had hit a reset button on the Blue Puff, she quickly perked up and sent her sister a smile.</p><p>“Of course I am! Just got caught in the rain is all. I’m gonna go take a shower,” Bubbles quickly flew up the stairs. Blossom sat for a moment, processing what just happened, before shrugging and returning to her book. From upstairs she could hear the muffled conversation between her two sisters.</p><p>She assumed that Buttercup had gone up to the bedroom to finish the homework she'd been procrastinating all weekend. Blossom personally hated doing homework on the weekends, so she always made sure to do her work two days before it was due. She came up with this strategy by having her friend and neighbor, Robin Snyder, give her an extra copy of the homework since their schedules were nearly identical despite being two days off. Talk about luck!</p><p>Blossom continued to read for an hour or so, but she continually felt her mind wander to other things… particularly a certain trio of boys and their encounter with the press today. She'd long accepted their devotion to crime-fighting, but she wished they weren't so disagreeable. As much as she hated to admit it, she would have been fine teaming up with them for some of the larger-scale missions, but it was that damn Red Ruff that made it so hard to see eye to eye.</p><p>His outburst at those reporters was totally unprofessional and uncalled for. Then again, Blossom hated Brick’s attitude in general. She hated how he could address reporters, or teachers, or anyone for that matter, with such a laid back and unprofessional demeanor. He always acted like he had something better to do. Like he <em>was</em> better. So why was it that the reporters loved interviewing him so much? And his brother Butch was just as bad, if not worse. Talking to a reporter like she’s a piece of meat? What person in Townsville wants these lunatics protecting them from anything?</p><p>If Blossom and her sisters acted half as disrespectful, she was sure the city would instantly demonize them for it. Blossom sighed, trying to return to her book, but found the cozy atmosphere spoiled by thoughts of those insufferable jerks. <em>Where do they get off, speaking to reporters like that? We've been crime-fighting for way longer! Those stupid boys would never understand the-</em></p><p>*RING RING*</p><p>The sound of the ringing phone interrupted Blossom from her thoughts. Luckily it was coming from their home phone which the mayor rarely called, but Blossom noticed her sisters’ heads poking out of their room curiously.</p><p>“Who’s it from?” Bubbles asked, her hair wrapped in a towel.</p><p>“It better not be from who I think it is…” Buttercup growled.</p><p>“But how would they have even gotten our home number?”</p><p>“Quiet guys. Hello?” Blossom asked firmly after picking up the phone. To Buttercup’s relief and Bubbles’ slight disappointment, Blossom’s expression softened.</p><p>“Who’s it from?”</p><p>“Oh thank you so much!” Blossom sounded excited.</p><p>“Blossom!” Buttercup asked impatiently.</p><p>“Wait, really?! Are you serious?” Blossom’s eyes widened. She suddenly turned to look at her sisters before silently mouthing: “<em>Wogue</em>”</p><p>“The magazine?!” Her sisters exclaimed in unison. Blossom nodded excitedly before turning her attention back to whomever she was speaking with on the phone.</p><p>"Uh-huh…" Blossom searched around for a pen and paper. Buttercup flew up to their room and back at lightning speed to hand one to her. Blossom began writing something down before glancing at the calendar on the opposite end of the room, using her x-ray vision to see the month of June. "...Yes, we'll be free in early June… yep! Of course!"</p><p>Bubbles was clinging onto Buttercup’s arm in excitement. The prospect of a photoshoot and an interview with Wogue magazine, one of the most exclusive and popular magazines in the world, was too good to be true. Buttercup’s heart was racing at the thought of it.</p><p>Suddenly Blossom’s face fell. Buttercup felt her heart sink and Bubbles’ grip on her arm tighten.</p><p>“...what?”</p><p>---</p><p>Butch had returned home a few hours ago to find his apartment dark and Brick’s bedroom door shut. He knew better than to bother his older brother when he was in a mood (which seemed like all of the time these days), so Butch decided to take advantage of his brothers’ absence. He plopped on the couch and changed the input setting on the tv. He had just bought a brand new horror video game a few weeks ago that was supposedly scarier than Silent Hill pt, but only Butch could be the judge of that.  </p><p>He played for an hour or so, getting a good five percent through the game. During this time, Boomer came home.</p><p>“Hey, Boomer, where ya been?” Butch called, his eyes still glued to the screen.</p><p>“Just walking around,” Boomer said casually before floating to his room and closing the door. Butch sighed. <em>We seriously need some family therapy</em>.</p><p>In the past, Butch had been pretty adamant about checking in with his brothers if it looked like something was bothering them, especially after they'd moved out of Townsville. However, things felt different now. Brick had never been this closed off before and Butch hadn't seen Boomer smile once since their encounter with Mojo last year. It felt like no one was allowed to say anything out of fear that it might jeopardize the mission… and maybe it would. But what did that mean for their relationship with each other? As Butch thought about this, he heard his older brother's cell phone ring from inside his room. It rang for a moment before Brick finally answered.</p><p>He heard the muffled sounds of conversation but knew it wouldn't be long before Brick hung up. Considering they didn't have any friends, it was probably the press or the mayor or something.<em>He’s gonna hang up. Any second now</em>. Butch continued to listen but was surprised to hear that his brother was still talking to whoever was on the line. The hell?</p><p>Suddenly, Brick’s door swung open and he emerged, looking around the room for something as he continued to listen to whoever he was talking to.</p><p>“Bro, who’s on the phone?” Butch asked, looking over behind the couch. Brick ignored him as he rifled through some drawers until he found what he was looking for - a pen and a piece of paper. He began scribbling something down before flying back to his room to grab his laptop.</p><p>“Uh-huh, I think we’re free in June,” Brick said, scrolling through something on his computer, most likely a calendar.</p><p>“Brick, what’s going on?” Butch asked again, getting annoyed.</p><p>“Sorry, can you hang on a minute?” Brick said to the phone before covering the speaker up with his hand and turning to Butch.</p><p>“Wogue magazine wants to do a shoot with us or something.”</p><p>“...Wogue... magazine?” Butch was shocked. He wasn’t too familiar with magazines, only knowing a handful of names, but he knew Wogue... and how famous it was. Then again, this felt too good to be true. Why was Brick getting this call so suddenly? It hadn’t even been six hours since the mayor’s ceremony.</p><p>“Did I hear what I thought I just heard?!” Boomer asked, flying out of his room to join his brothers. Brick waved him away as he tried to focus on what was being said on the other line.</p><p>“It’s probably a scam…” Butch reasoned, but Boomer firmly shook his head.</p><p>“Only authorized people are given Brick’s number. He got a new phone, remember?” Boomer reminded Butch. His eyes widened.</p><p>“Holy shit.”</p><p>“Shh!” Brick shushed his brothers before nodding silently to whatever the person on the other line was saying. Butch and Boomer were getting more excited by the minute.</p><p>For Butch, Wogue meant the possibility of supermodels. Plus who would pass up a chance to wear expensive clothing and look good in photos? It was a win-win!</p><p>“Uh-huh… yeah for sure… no problem…” Brick replied to the phone. Suddenly his face fell. His brother’s faces fell too.</p><p>“What dude?” Butch asked, not wanting the prospect of supermodels to slip away. Brick pulled the phone away from his face and covered the speaker again.</p><p>“They want us to do a photoshoot with the <em>fucking</em> Powerpuff Girls,” Brick said in a low voice. Butch scoffed. No surprise there.</p><p>“What’s in it for us?” Brick suddenly asked the phone in a serious tone. Butch and Boomer looked shocked. <em>Did he really just ask one of the poshest magazines in the world what was in it for him?!</em> He seemed to have gotten his answer as his eyes widened.</p><p>“What?” Boomer asked, curious.</p><p>“That’s… really generous…” Brick breathed. Butch felt his breath hitch as he looked over at Boomer with a wide grin. <em>Now we’re talking!</em></p><p>“So are we doing this or what?” Butch asked. Brick would be an idiot to pass up an opportunity like this.</p><p>Brick stood for a moment, thinking hard. “...give me till tomorrow morning to decide. I’ll get back to you.”</p><p>Butch watched as his older brother ended the call and went back into his room.</p><p>“He better say yes or I’m gonna sue,” Butch muttered to himself as he went back towards the couch. Boomer nodded, but his energetic mood was gone. He looked distant.</p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>“Huh?” Boomer snapped out of whatever he was thinking. “Oh, yeah. I’m just tired.” Butch decided not to press further as he watched his younger brother go back into his room.</p><p>---</p><p>Back in the Utonium household, Buttercup found Blossom lying face down on her bed. It had only been a few minutes since the phone call and Blossom was already beating herself up over saying yes to the Wogue deal. What was the problem? Sure they had to share the spotlight with the Rowdyruffs, but it’s not like they weren’t doing that already. Besides, they haven’t been <em>that</em> bad to deal with… at least Boomer hasn't.</p><p>“So, where are we staying during the shoot?” Buttercup asked, getting tired of watching her sister suffer.</p><p>“In a fancy cabin in the middle of the woods,” Blossom sighed, rolling over to face the ceiling.</p><p>“For six days?”</p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>“Why that long?”</p><p>"Well, there's six of us so it will take a while for all of us to get shot and interviewed… plus the weather is unpredictable apparently in that area."</p><p>“Oh.” Buttercup moved over to sit on the edge of her bed. “It probably won’t be <em>that</em> bad. What else did they say?”</p><p>“They’re apparently dedicating a section of the magazine to us since it’s <em>such</em> an anomaly that there are six heroes now instead of three,” Blossom said dramatically.</p><p>“So what are we wearing for the photoshoot?”</p><p>“Yeah… that.” Blossom slammed a pillow on her face for dramatic effect.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Okay, don’t be mad,” Blossom said, her voice muffled through the pillow.</p><p>“<em>What</em>?”</p><p>“There’s a new brand coming out with an expensive summer clothing line and they <em>kind of</em> want us to model it for them.”</p><p>“Okay…? What kind of clothing?” Buttercup asked. Blossom groaned.</p><p>“They have a line of athletic wear, sleep/loungewear, and swimwear…” Blossom said weakly.</p><p>“So?” Buttercup was confused by what the big deal was. Blossom suddenly sat up.</p><p>“So, that means we’re going to have to pose in either athletic wear, which is scandalous, sleepwear, which is scandalous, or swimwear which is-”</p><p>“Scandalous?”</p><p>“Exactly!”</p><p>“The Professor seemed like he was okay with the idea though, right?” Buttercup asked, trying to reassure her distressed sister.</p><p>“I… haven’t exactly told him yet.”</p><p>“What? Why?!”</p><p>“Because I <em>know</em> how he’ll react and while, yes, I may be acting a bit overdramatic, but that doesn’t displace the fact that we will still be wearing that stuff around the boys! The Professor would rather die than see us in bikinis next to some grinning teenage pervs.”</p><p>“In retrospect, Butch is the only perv,” Buttercup corrected. Blossom didn’t look the least bit convinced.</p><p>“That we know of!”</p><p>“Relax Bloss. Just tell the Professor a white lie. He doesn’t have to know <em>all</em> of the details,” Buttercup said slyly. Blossom gaped at her.</p><p>“I am <em>not</em> going to lie to the Professor!”</p><p>“You might have to…” A small voice that belonged to the Blue Puff suddenly rang out as she entered the room. Buttercup and Blossom spun around in unison to face her.</p><p>“What?! Bubbles!” Blossom was clearly shocked that Bubbles was condoning such behavior.</p><p>“I normally wouldn’t want to lie either, but think about it. This is <em>Wogue</em> magazine. We’ve <em>never</em> been offered such a big commercial opportunity! If we let this go, it’d be like letting go of the Hope Diamond!”</p><p>“Weird analogy, but yeah! Listen to Bubbles! Wogue magazine doesn’t reach out to just <em>anybody</em> for one of these things,” Buttercup added, scooting over to let Bubbles sit next to her on the pink-colored bed.</p><p>“...and I guess I found out how much they’re willing to pay us since I was so reluctant to agree…” Blossom said slowly. Bubbles and Buttercup’s eyes widened.</p><p>“How much?” Buttercup asked.</p><p>“Let’s just say we can all go to college after we graduate…” Blossom said with a smirk. Her sisters gasped.</p><p>“Wait why are they paying us that much?!” Bubbles asked.</p><p>"Apparently we're really popular right now. Beyond that, I mean, we're the only city in the world that has superheroes, and now that we have three more... who happen to be our counterparts... Wogue will make millions just by having us on the cover," Blossom replied. Buttercup nodded with a wide grin.</p><p>“What’s the problem then? It’s for a good cause! Our college education!”</p><p>“…I guess we can bend the truth a little. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?” Blossom asked, finally agreeing. Her sisters beamed.</p><p>“Yay! I’m so excited!!!” Bubbles exclaimed, hugging her sisters as they did a little victory jump.</p><p>However, Buttercup noticed Blossom’s grin quickly fade as soon as Bubbles released them. She could tell dealing with the boys had been really hard on Blossom, but she was going to have to suck it up if she wanted to finally have some good publicity outside of Townsville. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity after all!</p><p>---</p><p>Brick trudged through the halls of school the next morning. He was in a worse mood than usual since he hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Not only did he stay up late finishing a short story assignment for his English class, but he had to get up early to call Wogue back about the photoshoot, agreeing to it. He couldn’t for the life of him remember what made him agree. Maybe it was the money… or maybe it was the odd dream he had.</p><p>Whatever the reason, he couldn't help but hate himself for saying yes. Almost a full fucking week spent with the Powerpuff girls sounded exhausting. Hopefully, this wouldn't come back to stab him in the ass later.</p><p>Unlike his brothers, tolerating the Powerpuffs was a challenge for Brick. He shared his first class with the blonde one who had little to no regard for personal space. Brick was a fairly introverted person, so it took a lot of energy for him to talk to people, let alone someone who acted as if they ran on sugar and energy drinks.</p><p>“Morning Brick!” The blonde beamed up at him as he trudged to his seat. He was forced to sit at the same table as her now that they were apparently lab partners. Brick didn’t even know how that happened. Probably when he was asleep during one of the teacher’s painfully boring lectures. Environmental Science wasn’t really something Brick was that interested in, but since Anatomy and Human Sciences were full… here he was.</p><p>Brick plopped into the seat next to Bubbles with a sigh.</p><p>“Did you get the phone call last night?” She asked excitedly. How was she <em>this</em> energetic at eight in the morning?</p><p>“Yeah,” Brick said, laying his head on the table in exhaustion. He really needed to do something about his fucked-up sleep schedule.</p><p>“I honestly still can’t believe it. Wogue magazine! Is this real life?” Brick shrugged in response.</p><p>The blonde continued blabbering. “I wonder what clothing we'll be modeling? I hope I get to model swimwear! I haven't had much opportunity to go to the beaches yet since there have been so many monster sightings, but if we get to shoot by the ocean that would be amazing!" <em>Does she ever stop talking?</em></p><p>“If you had a choice, what clothing would you want to model in?” She suddenly asked. Brick turned his head to look at her and blinked slowly, hoping she’d see how tired he was and then leave him alone. When he saw no change on her face, he finally gave up.</p><p>“Anything but swimwear.”</p><p>“I take it you're not a ‘day at the beach’ kind of guy?” The blonde giggled. Brick was too tired to react to her comment.</p><p>“What do you think your brother's answers would be? About modeling clothing I mean.”</p><p>“Uh… I dunno,” Brick groaned, closing his eyes in exhaustion. However, he could still feel her gaze on him. When he looked back up at her, he was instantly met with the biggest puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen. <em>How is that even physically possible?!</em></p><p>A few seconds passed by as Brick tried really hard not to feel like a piece of shit for ignoring her. <em>Damn, she's good</em>. <em>Ugh. Fuck it</em>.</p><p>“...I guess Butch would probably want to wear athletic stuff... and Boomer would maybe choose like… I dunno loungewear or something,” Brick said in the most defeated voice. Bubbles’ expression softened as she nodded thoughtfully.</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>“Why?” Brick asked, getting slightly weirded out.</p><p>“Okay, let’s get started class! Can everyone please pull out your textbooks and turn to page two hundred and…” The teacher called out, barring Bubbles from any further conversation with Brick. <em>Sweet relief.</em></p><p>Brick’s next few classes were Powerpuff-free which gave him time to wake up and actually pay attention to the lessons. It was weird being in a high school with an actually decent education program. He and his brothers didn’t really get that when they lived outside of Townsville, but that was a story for another day.</p><p>Pretty soon lunch period began which was when Brick went to his English classroom early to avoid having to interact with his brothers. He shared the lunch period with Boomer, Butch, and Buttercup which meant that there was always some loud altercation that left Butch and Buttercup doing some stupid competition that either got them detention or a harsh warning from a teacher. Brick had been a dumbass last semester and ate lunch in the cafeteria which meant that he was often pulled into whatever shit his brothers got themselves into. <em>Never again</em>.</p><p>Brick liked eating in his English classroom because it was quiet and allowed him to mentally prepare himself for being in the same room as <em>her </em>for an hour. While they always kept their distance and had barely said a word to each other over the last year, Blossom and Brick had this intense silent hatred for each other. The tension was so thick that even the rest of the class made sure to keep them apart.</p><p>It was always awkward for Brick to come into class after she got there because it meant he’d have to potentially make eye contact with her while trying to find an open seat. Since she was never late to class, and God forbid he show up at the same time she does, getting there early was the only solution.</p><p>Pretty soon the bell rang and students began filing in, the Pink Puff among them. Brick looked down at his desk, already feeling a headache coming on. Of all classes, why did she have to be in <em>this</em> one? His favorite subject.</p><p>As much as Brick hated getting the attention for it, he loved writing. His teachers realized this the moment he wrote an analytical essay comparing Freud to generational conflict. Brick didn’t mind writing essays, but creative writing was his passion. </p><p>The last thing he wanted was to associate <em>writing</em> with <em>her</em>. He just hoped they could make it through the remainder of the semester without getting partnered up. He already had one of the Puffs as a lab partner. He didn’t need another.</p><p>The class went by as usual. Blossom had chosen a seat towards the front. Not that Brick gave a shit where she sat, she just happened to be in his line of sight.</p><p>Today’s class was reserved for presentations where students could choose to read their short stories out loud. Brick already knew he would be forced to read his since his teacher had a knack for making him out to be some sort of prodigy. Nevertheless, Brick sunk into his seat, hoping that maybe by some miracle the teacher would decide to spare him.</p><p>A few kids went up to read. Brick actually liked a few of them. His favorite was a short horror story about a man going crazy in his garden.</p><p>“...okay Brick, let’s hear what you wrote.” The teacher’s dreaded voice rang out. <em>Surprise, surprise.</em> Brick sighed and slowly rifled through his bag to find a printed out and crumpled-up story he had written at 3 am last night. For whatever reason, he couldn't get inspired to write much of anything these last few days. Brick chalked it up to there being too much on his mind this week. </p><p>He ended up writing a super basic story about a girl who wanted to impress her crush by doing a handstand on a bike. Brick wasn’t even sure why he wrote it or how he got the idea, but it was the only thing he could think of.</p><p>He read the damn thing as quickly as he could before trudging back to his seat.</p><p>“So does anyone have any questions for Brick?” The teacher asked, prompting the stupid ‘open-discussion’ portion of the class where Brick was subjected to answering dumb questions or pretending to be flattered by empty compliments.</p><p>“I really liked it. I thought it was a really quirky yet touching story,” one girl said. Brick resisted the urge to roll his eyes.</p><p>“I also thought it was really well written,” a boy chimed in. These people clearly didn’t know what good writing was if they thought <em>that</em> was well written. Brick suddenly felt chills. <em>She</em> was looking at him. He could feel it.</p><p>“I have a question actually,” her voice cut in. Brick felt a jolt. Why the hell was <em>she</em> talking? Throughout the semester, the pair had seemingly formed a silent pact to never voluntarily say a word to each other in class, directly or indirectly. Clearly, the Pink Puff had lost her mind since she was breaking their truce over one of the worst things Brick had ever written.</p><p>“What inspired you to write this? It’s a very odd premise.” <em>Was that supposed to be a compliment?</em></p><p>“I dunno… nothing really inspired me I guess.” Brick wanted to avoid making eye contact with her for as long as he could. He already knew what her expression would be. Smug. She always acted like she knew better. Like she <em>was</em> better. <em>Stuck-up little</em>-</p><p>“It just sounded very personal when you read it. The language was very <em>descriptive</em>.”</p><p>Brick looked up and hesitantly met the pink irises of his counterpart. He was actually a bit taken aback. No smirk or lifted eyebrow. Her expression was completely neutral. Was she actually interested in what he wrote? No, she <em>had</em> to be fucking with him.</p><p>"I guess parts of it may have been inspired by stuff that happened when I was a kid... I used to ride bikes with my brothers..." Brick trailed off. Why was he telling her this? It wasn't her business! Whatever. He'd given her a reason to shut up, so hopefully, there weren't going to be any more questions.</p><p>“Huh. Okay,” Blossom said in a somewhat judgemental tone before looking away. <em>The hell is she playing at?</em></p><p>After class Brick took his time to pack up and leave. It was free period next and he wanted to make sure the <em>Pink nightmare</em> left before him. However, when he looked up to casually see who was still in the room, he noticed she was still there. <em>That’s weird.</em></p><p>Brick continued packing, at an even more glacial pace, boredly inspecting a mechanical pencil as a waft of something sweet suddenly filled his nose. A flowery scented perfume? He looked around to find the source of the smell before jumping back in surprise to find <em>her</em> standing next to him. He backed up slightly, glaring daggers.</p><p>“The hell do you want?” Brick asked as he shoved the rest of his belongings in his backpack.</p><p>““I need to talk to you about this whole <em>Wogue</em> thing,” Blossom said in an annoyed tone. Brick felt his stomach drop. He’d almost forgotten about that.</p><p>“I’m not in the mood for this,” Brick muttered, walking past her.</p><p>“Brick!” She grabbed his arm, keeping him from reaching the door.</p><p>“What?” He spat, pulling out of her grip. Blossom’s eyes narrowed.</p><p>“Look, this photoshoot is a big deal. All six of us are going to be spending a lot of time together in that house, so I think you and I should agree to keep our distance from each other while we’re there, considering-”</p><p>“We hate each other?” Brick asked rhetorically. <em>No shit</em>.</p><p>“I just don’t want to cause a scene,” Blossom said in a softer tone, looking at the ground awkwardly. Brick sighed. She had a point. His brothers were definitely looking forward to the trip and the last thing he wanted was to start a huge fight with the Pink Puff in front of a camera crew.</p><p>“Sounds good,” Brick finally said, causing Blossom to look up. Her pink eyes met his red ones as she scanned his face for any signs of… who even knows. Satisfied, Blossom gave a curt nod and turned on her heel, before hesitating and looking over her shoulder.</p><p>“Your short story didn’t have anything to do with fifth grade, did it?”</p><p>“Fifth grade…?”</p><p>“Nevermind.” Blossom swiftly exited the classroom. Brick watched her go in confusion. <em>Fifth grade? The hell does that mean? </em>Brick decided to ignore it and head to a study room for his free period. At least he could start mentally preparing for “hell week” now that he and Blossom had somehow come to an agreement about the photoshoot. Hopefully, it would be a painless experience… though he doubted it.</p><p>---</p><p>-- June --</p><p>*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*</p><p>The sound of someone knocking on the front door rang through the Utonium household, signifying the Powerpuff Girls’ departure for the Wogue photoshoot.</p><p>June came quickly for the girls. Blossom had studied hard and aced all of her finals (no surprise there), Bubbles was offered a letter of recommendation by her Photography teacher for college applications, and Buttercup was not only able to raise her overall GPA but was also awarded a plaque for helping the boys' football team take home the fall 2019 state championship (without the use of her powers too)!</p><p>Professor Utonium couldn’t have been more proud of his girls, which meant that it was the perfect opportunity for them to tell him about their photoshoot deal with Wogue. He agreed in a heartbeat, most likely because the girls made sure to leave out the part where they were sharing a house with the Rowdyruff Boys.</p><p>The Professor opened the front door eagerly before shaking the hand of the woman standing on the step.</p><p>“Good afternoon Mr. Utonium. My name is Laura. I’m with Wogue.” The woman smiled warmly. She was of average height and was dressed stylishly.</p><p>“Hi Laura, come on in, the girls will be down in a few minutes. Girls!” The Professor called up to their room. Blossom was the first to head down, pink suitcase in hand. She smiled at Laura and shook her hand firmly.</p><p>“Nice to meet you, I’m Blossom Utonium.”</p><p>“No need for introductions, I’m a big fan! Wogue has wanted to do a piece on you girls for a long time, but we felt like now was the perfect opportunity.” Laura smiled. Blossom returned it.</p><p>Bubbles came down next, carrying her blue bag. Instead of a formal handshake, however, she immediately hugged Laura who laughed in response.</p><p>“Bubbles!” Blossom cried. “I’m so sorry about her, she-”</p><p>"Oh, it's fine. I'm a hugger too!" Laura laughed.</p><p>“Thank you so much for this opportunity! I love Wogue, it’s like my favorite magazine ever!” Bubbles’ voice was muffled against Laura.</p><p>“I’m so glad you like it!”</p><p>Finally, Buttercup came down with a green duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She grunted as the bag continually hit the back of her knees with each step until she finally resorted to flying. The Professor gave her a look of distaste for flying in the house in front of a guest, but Buttercup ignored him and shook Laura’s hand.</p><p>“Buttercup. And you are?”</p><p>“Laura. Pleasure to meet you. I was just telling your sisters that I’m a big fan.”</p><p>“Oh, thanks,” Buttercup replied awkwardly.</p><p>“Also, I’m so sorry, I hate to rush things, but we still have to pick up the boys, so if you could just hand your bags over to Bill over there, we can be on our way.” Laura gestured to the tall, stocky man who was leaning against the side of a large car. The vehicle was all black with tinted windows, making it look fancy.</p><p>“Alright girls, I guess I’ll see you in six days! Oh, you guys are so grown up!” The Professor cried which resulted in some eye rolls. “Have fun and I can’t wait to see how the magazine turns out!” The Professor quickly hugged his daughters goodbye.</p><p>"Thanks, Professor!"</p><p>“Love you!”</p><p>“We’re making sure he never sees a copy of this magazine until we’re eighteen right?” Buttercup mumbled to her sisters as they made their way to the bus.</p><p>“Oh, yeah. He’s never seeing these photos,” Blossom agreed.</p><p>---</p><p>When the bus stopped in front of the boys’ apartment, Bubbles felt butterflies in her stomach. A whole six days in close quarters with Boomer… Being the optimist she was, Bubbles hoped that this trip would give them time to talk more. Maybe he would even open up to her about what was going on.</p><p>Similarly, Buttercup was practically shitting herself with nerves. Six days of hanging out with Butch, a boy who knew how to simultaneously piss her off while making die of laughter. They’d got along decently over the last year and even had a few inside jokes, but Buttercup still barely knew anything about him. If the asshole had actually tried to have a conversation with her about anything other than which girl in their school would be an ‘easy lay’, then maybe they could have had a shot at becoming friends. Not that she wanted to be friends with him or anything because he’s a disgusting pervert, but still, it was interesting to think about.</p><p>Blossom, unlike her sisters, wasn’t feeling optimistic at all. She just prayed that she could make it through the week without losing her cool or getting into a huge fight with Brick.</p><p>The boys eventually entered the car. Buttercup had to get out to let them squeeze by to sit in the back row. While she stood outside she noticed a motorcycle parked in front of their apartment.</p><p>“Who’s ride is that?”</p><p>“Mine. Why? You want me to take you out on it sometime?” Butch asked, putting his hands behind his head as he sat down.</p><p>“I’d rather get hit by one,” Buttercup retorted, grimacing as she got back into her seat. Unfortunately, Butch was seated directly behind her.</p><p>“So how are the rest of you Puffs doing?” Butch asked as he casually flicked the back of Buttercup’s head.</p><p>“Not too bad-” Bubbles was cut off by her infuriated sister.</p><p>“I swear to god, if you do that again, I’ll kill you,” Buttercup threatened, fist clenched.</p><p>“Alright, alright, chill,” Butch raised his hands in defense. Buttercup glared at him for a moment before sighing and turning back to face the front. Once she figured it was safe, she decided to pull out a magazine to read.</p><p>Unlike Butch, Boomer and Brick were both still silent. Bubbles felt her heart rate go up slightly as she snuck glances at Boomer who was on his phone. She debated for a moment whether or not to say something, but decided to just go for it.</p><p>“Hey, Boomer. How are you?” He looked up at her and gave a small smile.</p><p>“Hey, Bubbles. Doing pretty good. How about yourself?”</p><p>“Can’t complain. Isn’t this crazy? I can’t believe we’re being photographed for Wogue,” Bubbles said excitedly. Boomer’s smile widened slightly.</p><p>“I know. It’s one of the few magazines I've actually heard of.”</p><p>“Yeah. I’m so excited!”</p><p>“Me too,” Boomer said before going back to his phone. Bubbles still had a smile on her face as she turned her head back towards the front.</p><p>“Son of a bitch!” Buttercup suddenly yelled as Butch flicked her again. She whipped around and swiftly hit him with the magazine.</p><p>“What? I didn’t do anything,” Butch said through laughter. Buttercup hit him harder with the magazine.</p><p>“Flick me again, Butch. See what happens,” Buttercup threatened. Butch winked at her in response which caused her to gag.</p><p>Unlike their siblings, Brick and Blossom stayed silent for the entire ride. Brick was listening to music, desperately trying to drown out the noise, while Blossom pulled a book out of her backpack to pass the time.</p><p>They eventually got to the cabin around 6:30 pm that night after nearly five hours of driving (and a few bathroom breaks). The group slowly filed out of the car and grabbed their bags. Laura had gone in a separate car and was walking down the front steps of the house to greet them.</p><p>Calling this place a cabin at all was a HUGE understatement. The dark, wooden, three-story structure was easily over 4,000 square feet. The entryway where the group stood was covered by a large cement covering with wood detailing. On either side of the main door to the house sat some outdoor furnishings and a fire pit. The group gaped in awe.</p><p>"Come on inside, I'll give you a tour," Laura said, gesturing for them to follow her. The inside of the house was even more incredible! Practically everything was made of wood which gave the house a very rustic feel. To the left of the entryway, there was a set of stairs leading up to the second floor and another set leading down to the basement. To the right of the entryway was an enormous dining room table, a modern-looking chandelier made of metal, and an enormous kitchen that Bubbles was already in love with. She had originally planned on making stir fry for everyone that night, so what better place to do it!?</p><p>Laura led the group through the rest of the house. Past the kitchen, there was a large pantry and beyond that a pair of bedrooms, one of which is a master. On the other side of the kitchen, past the staircase, there was a laundry room, a garbage room, a bathroom, and three more bedrooms. All of the bedrooms, Blossom noted, were modern and stylishly furnished. The second floor had three bedrooms, except one was a master and the other two were twins.</p><p>“...and the third floor has a similar layout to the second floor, but we’re actually going to be doing some of the shoot up there, so I want to keep it as tidy as possible. That means that you can sleep in any room in the house except for the ones on the third floor,” Laura said as she led them up the stairs. She wasn’t kidding. It was pretty much the same except there were only two bedrooms and one of them was ENORMOUS. Like you could easily fit twenty people in that room alone.</p><p>Finally, they got to the basement which was equipped with a giant tv, some couches, a pool table, and two bedrooms.</p><p>“Want to see the pool?” Laura suddenly asked. The group felt their breaths catch.</p><p>“There’s a pool?!” Butch asked in shock. <em>Could this get any better?!</em></p><p>Butch could have kissed Laura when he saw the pool. It was huge and there was even a hot tub! Next to the pool was a small path that led down to a pool-house equipped with a sink, a bed, some tables, and a shower.</p><p>“We’re going to be conducting the interviews in there,” Laura said, pointing to the tiny house.</p><p>“Aw, it’s so cute!” Bubbles remarked. Laura chuckled politely and led them down the path past the pool house. Around the corner was a tennis/basketball court! Both Butch and Buttercup gasped and ran towards it. Instinctually, Laura had opened the pool house to grab a basketball for the pair to use.</p><p>“Laura, I love you!” Butch yelled as he and Buttercup admired every inch of the court.</p><p>“Here!” Laura yelled as she chucked the basketball towards the pair.</p><p>“I’m gonna beat you in a one on one as payback for being a dick during the car ride,” Buttercup said as she caught the ball. Butch immediately guarded her from the net.</p><p>“Oh yeah? First one to ten wins. Loser has to jump into the pool with their clothes on,” Butch said with a smirk.</p><p>“You’re on!” The pair began playing an aggressive one on one game while the rest of the group followed Laura back into the house.</p><p>"Alright, I'll leave you all here to get settled in, and then I'll give you a call later tonight to talk about the schedule for the rest of the week. Tomorrow is actually free for you guys because the crew needs time to get here and plan the set for Monday," Laura said with a smile.</p><p>"Thank you, Laura. And you don't need to worry about anything. I'll make sure to monitor the group so the house doesn't get destroyed," Blossom said in a confident voice. Brick did his best to keep from rolling his eyes. <em>It’s just six days. You can do this, Brick.</em></p><p>"Thank you, Blossom, but I actually have no issue with you all staying in this house. The owner is a family friend of one of the crew members and… I hope you don't mind my saying that your being here puts a lot of people in this area at ease. A house full of superheroes is definitely reason enough for burglars to stay clear of here," Laura said with a small chuckle. “So if you need anything we’re just a few houses down. My number is posted by the phone. I’ll call you in a few hours.”</p><p>Blossom smiled politely and waved as Laura exited the house.</p><p>“Holy shit. This is unreal,” Boomer muttered to himself, looking around again. He’d never been in such a large house before, let alone for almost an entire week!</p><p>“I know! I can’t wait to cook in that kitchen!” Bubbles replied, admiring the facility. Suddenly a very out of breath Buttercup came flying in. Not too long after, an angry and water-logged Butch followed suit.</p><p>“Ha! Loser!” Buttercup laughed.</p><p>"Well, at least I'm not a cheater! Destroying the hoop is pretty low, even for you, Butters," Butch seethed as he wrung out his shirt.</p><p>“Not on the floor!” Blossom exclaimed, running over to the Green Ruff. “You’re dripping water everywhere!”</p><p>Butch raised an eyebrow before smirking and taking off his shirt completely. Buttercup snickered as she saw color instantly rise to her sister’s cheeks.</p><p>“Like what you see?” Butch asked with a smirk, noticing Blossom’s flustered expression.</p><p>“Put a shirt on, Butch,” Brick ordered in a disinterested tone as he admired some of the art that hung on the walls of the gorgeous house.</p><p>“Well can we at least choose our rooms first so I have somewhere to change?” Butch asked, walking over to his bag. Blossom continued to make sounds of distaste as Butch’s shorts and shoes dripped water everywhere. Eventually, she cleared her throat and stood in front of the group with her arms crossed.</p><p>"Okay, since we're all going to be living together for the next six days, I think we should lay down some ground rules. This is for the sake of our sanities and for our personal safety too…" Blossom studied the faces of the group. No one seemed to be opposed, so she continued. "I think we should divide the house by gender, boys on one side and girls on the other. Boys shouldn't be in girls' rooms and vice versa after let's say… nine o'clock?"</p><p>“Yes, Professor,” Buttercup mocked. Blossom sent her a stern look.</p><p>"Another rule I have, that is so obvious I shouldn't even have to say it, is to NEVER track water on the floors. Butch, I'm talking to you." Butch raised his hands in defense. Blossom eyed him for a moment before continuing. "Also, did I hear you say Buttercup <em>destroyed</em> the basketball hoop?!”</p><p>“No,” Butch said guiltily.</p><p>“Buttercuuup,” Blossom groaned, tilting her head back in frustration. Buttercup sighed.</p><p>“Sorry. Butch is a fucking idiot, so I get carried away sometimes.”</p><p>“Hey!” Butch yelled. More arguing ensued before Brick whistled really loudly.</p><p>“Guys, shut up!”</p><p>“...Thank you,” Blossom said cautiously. Brick made no indication of him hearing her as he studied the floor, so Blossom continued. “We’re going to need to get groceries too. I noticed we drove through a small town not far from here, so if anyone wants to fly over and pick up some ingredients and essentials that would be great.”</p><p>“Ooh, yeah. I’ll quickly whip up a grocery list for whoever’s going since I already made a meal plan for the week,” Bubbles said, looking for a notepad and pencil.</p><p>“I’ll go. I don’t mind,” Buttercup said, clearly feeling bad about the whole basketball hoop thing.</p><p>"I'll go too," Butch said. "Right after I change... in the master bedroom!" He suddenly sprinted to the left side of the house to claim the nicest room which meant that the girls would be taking rooms on the opposite end. Everyone grabbed their bags and went to their respective sides. Bubbles took a 2nd-floor twin bedroom. Buttercup took the bedroom past the kitchen. Blossom took the twin bedroom across from Bubbles and Boomer and Brick decidedly took the two bedrooms across from Butch.</p><p>---</p><p>The sun was beginning to set as Butch and Buttercup flew into town. It was a small town surrounded by trees and mountains. Buttercup normally hated quiet places like this where monster and villain attacks were slim to none, but right now the absence of car horns and screeching was pretty soothing. When the pair landed on the ground and entered the grocery store, they were delightfully surprised to find that there were hardly any people inside.</p><p>“Man, I wish I lived in a small town like this. Imagine not having to wait in line to buy toothpaste,” Butch reminisced.</p><p>“Yeah, but think of how boring it would be. What villains would want to take over a place like this?”</p><p>"Yeah, good point. Maybe I'll move here when I'm old."</p><p>“If you live till then,” Buttercup snickered. Butch rolled his eyes.</p><p>“That was so funny, I forgot to laugh.”</p><p>“Wait, shut up a second.” Buttercup raised a hand to silence the annoyed Ruff as she began rummaging through her jacket and pants pockets.</p><p>“The hell are you doing?”</p><p>“Trying to find the list.”</p><p>“What list?”</p><p>“The grocery list dumbass! The one Bubbles gave us like two seconds ago!” Buttercup continued turning her pockets inside out to find it.</p><p>“Oh shit… I thought that was just like a receipt or something.”</p><p>“What did you do?” Buttercup stopped searching and narrowed her eyes at her counterpart.</p><p>“Woah, I didn’t do shit! I just saw it fall out of your pocket on the way over here and I figured it wasn’t that important.”</p><p>“Your stupidity truly amazes me sometimes,” Buttercup seethed, rubbing her temples as she tried to remember what Bubbles had written on the list.</p><p>“Look, whatever blondie needed probably wasn’t that complicated. Let’s just look up whatever ingredients are in stir fry and buy stuff based on that.”</p><p>“Wait, that’s actually not a bad idea,” Buttercup said in a surprised tone, pulling out her phone.</p><p>“I have <em>tons</em> of good ideas, Butters,” Butch said cockily. Buttercup ignored him as she typed something into the search bar.</p><p>"Shit," Buttercup muttered. "Bad reception. My phone won't load the recipe."</p><p>Butch raised his phone above his head to get a better signal as he also tried to look it up. “Mine won’t either.”</p><p>“Now what?”</p><p>“How much do you know about making stir fry?”</p><p>“I can’t cook for shit, so not much.”</p><p>“Same here…” Butch looked a tad defeated.</p><p>“Whatever. It can’t be that hard to figure out. I know it needs chicken, peppers and I’m assuming some onion.” Buttercup swiftly grabbed a basket and flew to the protein aisle to grab a few packages of raw chicken before flying to the vegetable section to get the rest.</p><p>“What about the sauce? Stir fry is cooked in sauce right?” Butch asked, a few feet behind his determined counterpart.</p><p>“I’m assuming, otherwise it would just be cooked chicken and vegetables.”</p><p>"Okay, it's been a while since I last had stir fry, but I remember it tasted sweet and salty so…" Butch flew over to the spices aisle with Buttercup trailing behind. "Um… soy sauce?" Butch asked, grabbing the bottle in question.</p><p>“I honestly don’t know… what about teriyaki sauce?”</p><p>“What’s the difference?”</p><p>“One’s soy and one’s… teriyaki?” Buttercup compared the two bottles as Butch snickered.</p><p>Buttercup’s eyes narrowed. “The hell are you laughing at? You know less about this shit than I do!”</p><p>“True, but it’s still funny.”</p><p>“Whatever asswipe,” Buttercup grumbled, shifting her gaze between the two bottles of sauce before shrugging and tossing them in the basket. “Fuck it, let’s just get both. We might need them this week for other stuff anyways.”</p><p>“Sounds good to me. Also does stir fry have rice or noodles? I can’t remember,” Butch inquired, scratching his head. Buttercup stood for a moment in thought. As the two hopeless teens began racking their brains, the employees of the store were watching them intently. It wasn’t every day that you saw famous superheroes in your store.</p><p>“Let’s just get both!” Buttercup cried, giving up. Why was stir fry so complicated?</p><p>By the end of it, the pair ended up buying the weirdest and largest assortment of groceries that could easily last the six of them for weeks in that house. The employees couldn’t decide if they should be worried or impressed as they watched the pair fly out of the store with that many bags in hand.</p><p>"Your sister better be ready to forgive us about that basketball hoop when we get back. Blondie should be able to make us a four-course meal with all the shit we bought."</p><p>"Damn right! I hate it when I get on Blossom's bad side like that. She won't even yell at me anymore, she'll just give me the silent treatment because she knows it's so much worse."</p><p>“I relate. But in my case, Brick doesn’t hold back. He’d rather fight than talk about it man-to-man. ”</p><p>“Sounds healthy,” Buttercup remarked sarcastically.</p><p>“He also goes way easier on Boomer when he screws up.”</p><p>“Same with Bubbles! Then again, Bubbles doesn’t push Bloss’ buttons as much as I do.”</p><p>“Well in my case, Boomer deserves a good fight every now and then. He fucks up twice as much as I do and still gets let off easy,” Butch complained. Buttercup nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, it sucks. I also feel like I have to pretend like it doesn’t bother me all of the time. Not just Blossom’s attitude towards me, but like how our whole team dynamic works.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Blossom is the ‘commander and leader’, Bubbles is the ‘joy and laughter’, and I’m the ‘toughest fighter’ right?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>"Well, who decided what our roles in the team were? What would happen if Bubbles and I wanted to switch roles? Are we always going to be confined to the tropes our titles make us out to be?"</p><p>“...you’re mad about being the toughest fighter? What does that have to do with Blossom going easier on Bubbles?” Butch asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“No, it’s not that… it’s just… nevermind. Forget I said anything,” Buttercup said, flying past Butch to get to the house. He shrugged and followed.</p><p>---</p><p>The night went by fast once Butch and Buttercup had returned from the store. Bubbles laughed when she saw what the duo had bought, but made it work regardless.</p><p>The group sat at the large dining room table. Brick and Blossom were on opposite ends, eating in silence while the rest of their siblings talked away.</p><p>“Bubbles did you make this extra spicy just for me?” Buttercup asked between bites. Bubbles had never ceased to amaze her sisters with her cooking skills.</p><p>“Yup! I know how much you like it.”</p><p>“You are a Goddess!” Buttercup said, holding up her water glass to Bubbles in praise. Bubbles giggled.</p><p>"Where'd you learn to cook anyway?" Boomer asked before popping another fork-full into his mouth. Bubbles was surprised to hear his voice as she stumbled over her words.</p><p>“I-I just picked it up since the Professor is always working and never really has time to cook for us anymore. After a while cooking became really fun. There’s just so much you can experiment with.” Bubbles did her best to contain her excitement about Boomer deliberately talking to her.</p><p>Butch suddenly cut in with his mouth full. “Brick can cook too. He’s actually pretty good when he tries,” Butch pointed his fork at his older brother who instantly shot him a glare.</p><p>“The hell does that mean? I fucking try!”</p><p>“Yeah, but you barely cook for us. You’ll only do it if you’re in a good mood which is like once every five months,” Butch noted. Brick rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Fine, I'll cook tomorrow night, how does that sound?”</p><p>"Wait really, bro? You mean it?" Butch was shocked.</p><p>“I’m happy to let you take over tomorrow, Brick! I planned a chicken pesto pasta. Is that alright?” Bubbles asked sweetly.</p><p>“Sure, that’s fine.”</p><p>“Yes!” Boomer was practically jumping in his seat. Brick rolled his eyes but let a small smile form on his lips.</p><p>Bubbles felt her heart flutter as she watched this exchange. Butch and Boomer looked like little kids at Christmas. It was adorable.</p><p>Everyone finished up eating and, not long after, the phone rang. Instinctually both Brick and Blossom reached for the phone but stopped as soon as they saw each other’s hands move. The pair glared at each other for a moment before Brick said something under his breath and aggressively picked up the phone.</p><p>"Hey, Laura… uh-huh… yeah, we're fine… okay… okay… one sec." Brick suddenly put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear.</p><p>"Hey, guys!" Laura's kind voice rang out. "Okay, so tomorrow as you know is a free day, but the rest of the week is going to be super busy. First off, I wanted to tell you guys what days you'll be shooting, what you'll be wearing, and who your partners will be."</p><p>“Wait, we have partners?” Butch asked, his mouth still full of food.</p><p>"Yes. This will help the shoot go faster and we'll be able to model both men's and women's clothes in the same session. The first pair will be Boomer and Bubbles on Monday and you will be modeling the swimwear line," Laura said casually as if she were reading off a list. Bubbles felt her stomach do flips.</p><p>“Do we get to pose by the water?” Bubbles asked, trying to contain her excitement.</p><p>“Yup, there’s a little beach a few miles down.”</p><p>"I get to go to the beach this summer! Finally!" Bubbles exclaimed. This was too good to be true, but hopefully, Boomer wouldn't mind being in a session with her. She quickly glanced at the Blue Ruff who was focused on the speaker and didn't seem at all affected by the news.</p><p>“Next up is Brick and Blossom.” Laura’s voice seemed to echo through the heads of the two red-heads as their eyes widened. “You two will be scheduled for whenever we have a rainy day since the weather will be all over the place this week. Your shoot will be indoors on the third floor of the house and you’ll be modeling sleepwear.” Brick and Blossom were at a loss for words. What were the odds of the two of them getting paired up AND having to model sleepwear?! God knows what they’d be wearing and what kind of positions the crew would have them placed in for the shoot!</p><p>“Is there any way we can be partnered with other people?” Brick suddenly asked, snapping Blossom out of her mortified trance.</p><p>“Unfortunately, it was requested that we pair you up with your... lookalike since it will display the clothing lines for men and women in a more aesthetically pleasing way,” Laura remarked.</p><p>"The hell do you mean 'lookalike'?! We look nothing alike!" Brick seethed.</p><p>Blossom was about to give her her own input when Laura continued speaking. “Lastly, Buttercup and Butch will be modeling the athleticwear, so we’ll be shooting by the basketball court.”</p><p>“Should we tell her about the broken hoop…?” Butch whispered to Buttercup who quickly shook her head.</p><p>“Play dumb when they see it.” Butch gave a thumbs up in response.</p><p>"Okay, any questions?" Laura finally asked. Blossom opened her mouth to object to her scheduling decisions when Buttercup cut in.</p><p>“What day are Butch and I scheduled for?”</p><p>“Tuesday I believe. It’s all very weather dependent.” Brick was about to make another complaint when Boomer interrupted.</p><p>“How are the interviews going to work?”</p><p>“We’re going to pull you each aside at random hours of the day to ask you a series of questions in the pool house…” Laura continued speaking about how interviews would look and eventually ended the call by stating she would be sending over the printed schedule tomorrow. Brick and Blossom weren’t able to get a word in.</p><p>“I wonder what they’re going to give us to wear. Maybe leggings or shorts?” Buttercup pondered. Butch smirked.</p><p>“Hopefully those leggings won’t leave much to the imagination.” Buttercup swiftly kneed him in the groin, causing him to buckle over.</p><p>“Quit being a perv or next time I won’t be so gentle.”</p><p>“Jesus, you two are like animals,” Boomer muttered as he walked back to the dining room table to clear his plate. The rest of the group went their separate ways. Bubbles, Boomer, and Buttercup went into the kitchen to clean up, Butch went back to his room to do god knows what, and Blossom and Brick were waiting to see who would head to their rooms first since they both had to walk in the same direction. When neither of them made any indication of leaving out of spite, Blossom let out a sigh of annoyance and swiftly turned on her heel to go outside and check out the pool.</p><p>It was cold outside and Blossom rubbed her arms to keep warm. So far Brick was doing a good job at keeping his distance, but what did that mean for the shoot? What was that even going to be like? The more Blossom thought about it, the more she dreaded it, so she decided to put it out of her mind.</p><p>Meanwhile Brick was sitting on his bed trying to type out an outline on his laptop for a new short story. However, as much as he wanted to concentrate, he couldn’t stop thinking about the stupid photoshoot. Why had he agreed to this again? Money? There had to have been another reason.</p><p>Brick thought for a minute about the plan when he suddenly remembered parts of the dream he had that night he got the phone call about Wogue…</p><p>…….</p><p>Brick woke up in his apartment to a glowing red light beckoning him out of his room and into the living room. He remembered rolling out of bed and following the light into the open space of his apartment which looked much larger and more abstract than he remembered. The living room looked like it stretched for miles and in the distance, he saw someone sitting on the couch.</p><p>“Hello Bricky,” the familiar demonic voice echoed around Brick. It was <em>Him</em>. His voice soon softened into a more high-pitched sing-song tone. “Long time no see. What’s it like playing hero for Townsville? Is it <em>fun</em>?”</p><p>"It's all part of your plan, so you tell me," Brick said in a cool tone. Him's voice sounded so close as if he were standing right behind him.</p><p>“<em>Our</em> plan, dear boy. I thought we were working together on this,” He taunted.</p><p>“We are.”</p><p>“So then why the paranoid attitude? <em>Getting cold feet?</em>” Him’s voice turned dark.</p><p>“Maybe it’s because you’re meeting me in a dream. I thought you only did that with people you didn’t trust.” Suddenly the living room seemed to shrink as the couch moved closer. A crab-claw raised from behind the couch and beckoned Brick to walk around and face him. Brick obeyed and slowly moved around it until he was standing face to face with the devil himself.</p><p>“Have a seat Brick.” Him used an invisible force to push Brick into a chair. Him still looked the same, sporting the red outfit and black high-heeled boots. “I appreciate your dedication to the mission, but meeting you in person is far too exhausting at this time of night.”</p><p>Brick still wasn’t convinced.</p><p>"So, a little birdie tells me you just got an offer from Wogue magazine to do a photoshoot."</p><p>“Yeah… I haven’t said yes yet though. It seemed-”</p><p>“Like the perfect opportunity? You’re not wrong, Bricky. The global publicity this magazine receives is nothing to scoff at. If anything, this advances our plan twofold. If the world thinks of you as an ally, it will be even easier to take them all by surprise. The element of surprise is the biggest weapon in our cavalry, so you will do well to make sure your brothers don’t make any more slip-ups… <em>especially Boomer</em>.” Him’s voice carried a threatening tone which caused the hair on Brick’s neck to raise.</p><p>“He won’t. He got the Professor and the girls to trust us last year.”</p><p>“That boy has a weak resolve. But nothing is worse than a wild card... like your other brother, <em>Butch</em>. His unpredictability may become an issue, so be sure to keep a particularly sharp eye on him too.”</p><p>“On Butch?” Brick sounded surprised.</p><p>"He may be a strong asset to your team, but you are forgetting that he was one of the reasons your team failed so often when you were younger. That boy's wild and erratic behavior was manageable at first but has grown worse over the years. He'll listen to commands, sure, but at the end of the day, he wants a spot on the top. Think of him as an untrained dog. Keep him on a tight leash or he'll turn on you in an instant."</p><p>“You’re wrong… Butch isn’t like that.” Him chuckled darkly before standing up to pace.</p><p>“Let me ask you a question, Brick, why do you think you are the leader rather than your younger brothers?” Him asked. Before Brick could answer, however, Him held up a claw.</p><p>"It's because you're smart. Smart people can make or break a society if you give them the right motivation. Your brothers know this which is why they continue to follow you, but being as smart as you are… let's just say it can eventually lead to arrogance and give you a false sense of security..."</p><p>“Are you trying to say that my brothers will turn on me?”</p><p>“Anything is possible, Bricky. Especially on this trip. Six days is a long time. Your brothers could have a change of heart. Don’t be a fool.”</p><p>Brick stood up angrily, sending Him a glare. “You know how much my brothers and I went through and sacrificed to gain your respect? If you think I’m a fool for trusting my own family, you're delusional.” Him began laughing uncontrollably at those words.</p><p>“Including you in this mission has nothing to do with <em>respect</em> my dear boy,” Him said through tears as Brick clenched his fists. “And I’m simply giving you some advice, Bricky, nothing more. If you truly believe your brothers can hold their own on this trip, then I will leave it in your hands.”</p><p>…….</p><p>Back in the enormous house, Brick took off his cap and wrung it in his hands. How could he have forgotten that meeting? Then again, he couldn't remember a lot of the dreams he's had recently. Either way, Brick was determined to prove Him wrong. He knew his brothers. They weren't idiots. This plan was too important to jeopardize considering how far they've come. They just needed to get through these six days without any slip-ups. Piece of cake…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for your support so far, I’m happy to be a part of such a cool fandom! My goal is to try and update this fic once a week, but life gets busy so we'll see how long that lasts lol. I’ve also loved reading reviews from you guys, it really keeps me motivated, so please feel free to keep leaving them. Even if you just want to say hi or talk about general PPG x RRB stuff, I want to hear from you :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Text</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The last thing anyone in Townsville expected to hear was that the Rowdyruff Boys were trying to beat the Powerpuff Girls at their own game… crime-fighting. But what happens when a posh magazine gives the rival teams an offer they can’t refuse? Will the group survive a week together in close quarters? Or will their rivalry bring out a secret that could change the city of Townsville forever?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the long update! I just moved and have been getting used to living in a new state. As I mentioned at the very beginning, my updates won’t always be consistent, but I’ll do my best. As always, thank you guys for the amazing support and kind words, it really makes my day when I get to read your reviews and I will always respond!<br/>*Also I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Bubbles is vegetarian! Whoops.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 3: </p><p>-- Sunday --</p><p>Boomer was drenched in sweat when he woke up that morning. His room had grown inexplicably hot over the last few hours to the point where throwing off the covers didn't do much good. Boomer groggily sat up and checked his phone which read eight-thirty AM. The Blue Ruff took a minute to orient himself on what day it was and where he was before remembering the events of yesterday. Wogue magazine, stir fry, and schedules. He slowly stood up and crossed the relatively spacious bedroom to open the curtains. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day as the sunshine instantly greeted him and lit up the rest of the room. </p><p>After a moment of allowing himself to wake up, Boomer took a quick shower to wash away the sweat. The water felt nice as it soothed the sore muscles in his neck and shoulders from his bad habit of sleeping on his stomach. Once he emerged from the bathroom, feeling refreshed and ready for the day, the blonde Ruff crossed the room towards his messy suitcase. He swiftly pulled out a t-shirt and some shorts to put on, but just as he began changing an amazing aroma hit his nose. Bacon.</p><p>Boomer’s stomach growled and he wasted no time pulling on his clothes before running into the kitchen for some food. </p><p>Bubbles and Buttercup were already there, stationed away from each other. Bubbles was at the stove cooking while Buttercup sat at the dining room table staring down at her phone. The stark contrast between the sisters was striking. Bubbles had a pleasant look on her face as she fried the bacon, humming to herself cheerfully, while Buttercup looked like she was going to murder anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way. Her hair was messy and she wore an oversized green sweatshirt, clenching her coffee cup with both hands as she sipped it in silence. Boomer felt a chill as he walked by.</p><p>“Morning,” He greeted instinctively to no one in particular before taking a seat at one of the barstools in front of the stove. Bubbles looked surprised to hear his voice so close to her.</p><p>“Morning, Boomer. How’d ya sleep?” </p><p>“Pretty good,” Boomer said through a yawn before noticing that Bubbles was grilling what looked like two types of bacon. </p><p>"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the odd-looking strips she had on a separate frying pan. Normally he'd be a bit wearier about striking up a conversation with his cheery counterpart for the sake of the mission, but it was early and she went out of her way to make food for them.</p><p>“Oh, it’s vegan bacon,” Bubbles explained casually, flipping over a piece.</p><p>“You’re vegan?”</p><p>“No, haha, I’m a vegetarian.”</p><p>Buttercup suddenly cut in. “What’s that shit even made of? Mushrooms?”</p><p>“No, rice paper! I found this cool recipe for it online and thought I’d try it out!”</p><p>“Ew,” Buttercup gagged before looking back down on her phone. “Also was anyone else’s room hot as balls this morning or was it just me?”</p><p>“Yeah, it was gross,” Boomer replied, grateful that the kitchen was a bit cooler.</p><p>“How hot is it going to be today anyways?”</p><p>Boomer pulled out his phone, pondering why Buttercup didn’t just look this information up herself. “Apparently it’s going to be ninety-five degrees.”</p><p>“Damn… guess I’ll be living in the pool from now on,” Buttercup joked dryly, taking another sip of her coffee.</p><p>“Ooh! That’s a great idea!” Bubbles remarked excitedly as she put the finished “bacon” on a plate. “Let’s go check out the pool! Wanna come with us, Boomer?” Boomer felt something twinge inside of him but ignored it.</p><p>“Sure.” Boomer grabbed a piece of normal bacon from the nearby plate and took a bite before following the girls outside. Holy shit that’s perfectly cooked!</p><p>The hot and muggy weather greeted the trio instantly. It was the kind of heat that made you want to go in the water, even if you hated swimming. Boomer already knew he was going to sweat through his clothes in a matter of minutes if they didn’t get to the pool soon. Buttercup seemingly read his mind as she desperately opened the pool cover and stuck her feet into the refreshing water.</p><p>"I swear to God, I'm going to move into a house with a pool when I'm older. I don't even care if the house is falling apart or haunted. If it's got a pool, I'll take it," Buttercup said with a sigh, tilting her head back lazily.</p><p>“Damn,” Boomer remarked, flying above the water as he lazily dragged his toes along the surface.</p><p>“Hey, I’m allowed to be desperate when it’s this hot out at nine in the morning.”</p><p>“What are you guys doing?” Blossom’s voice rang out, causing the trio to turn and look at the tall red-head.</p><p>“We’re considering going for a swim. It’s already super hot outside,” Bubbles replied, fanning herself for emphasis. Boomer noticed Blossom was dressed in athletic gear, headphones hanging loosely around her neck. Who’d want to work out in this heat?</p><p>“Okay, I might go swimming later. Don’t wait up for me,” Blossom said as she started her run.</p><p>Once she left, Boomer decided to sit down and put his feet in the water. Bubbles was seated across from him, aimlessly splashing the water around with her hands. He watched her for a moment before sighing and standing up.</p><p>“I’m going to get something to drink, you guys want anything?”</p><p>“Butch and I bought a thing of lemonade yesterday, can you get me a glass?” Buttercup asked, seemingly debating whether or not to just jump in with her clothes on.</p><p>"Ooh, me too!" Bubbles called as Boomer floated back towards the house. He gave her a thumbs-up without looking back. He could already tell it was going to be near impossible to keep his distance from the Blue Puff. He didn't want to avoid talking to her altogether though because that just made him look like an asshole.</p><p>God, when did this get so complicated? Boomer sighed as he realized this Wogue shoot might have not been the best idea after all. Before this, the two teams only saw each other at school or occasionally while fighting crime which always gave him an excuse to give Bubbles the cold shoulder. Now, however, the pair were basically living together, so all excuses he had before were thrown out the window. </p><p>Boomer felt a headache coming on as he poured two glasses of lemonade and brought them outside for the girls.</p><p>“Where’s your glass?” Bubbles asked as she took her drink from his hand.</p><p>“Oh, I’m suddenly not feeling so good, so I think I’m going to go lie down,” Boomer lied, feeling his headache worsen by the minute.</p><p>“It’s probably from this damn heat. Stay hydrated dude,” Buttercup suggested after chugging her drink. </p><p>“Thanks, I’ll try,” Boomer replied before going back into the house. What a lame excuse. But it was all he could think of. Besides, he really did have a headache so it’s not like he was completely lying to her face...</p><p>---</p><p>Butch woke up around 1 pm that afternoon with a headache to a similar degree as his younger brother. Normally he would sleep-in much later, considering they were literally on a "vacation". His headache and premature awakening were most likely due to the playful screaming going on from outside his window. From what he could tell, it sounded like a girl was getting splashed. Wait… splashed?! Butch wasted no time pulling on his swim trunks and flying out of his room. How could he have forgotten? They had an entire pool to themselves! </p><p>When Butch flew outside of the house, he felt his stomach do a flip. Not only was it the perfect temperature to go swimming, but there were two goddesses in bathing suits waiting for him there. The blonde one was wearing a blue bikini that left little to the imagination since she was a bit bustier than her other sisters. And the black-haired one was in a delicious black bikini that had a high neck with crochet detailing. Butch was practically drooling as he approached.</p><p>“Damn… no wonder Wogue wants to do a photoshoot with you girls.” Buttercup made a disgusted face at his remark.</p><p>“No wonder you repulse all women.”</p><p>"Oh, I didn't realize you counted, Butters," Butch replied wryly.</p><p>“Is this how the rest of this week is going to go with you two?” Bubbles asked with a sigh, eyeing the Green counterparts as they faced off. </p><p>“Can’t you just shut up for an hour so I can enjoy the pool in peace?” Buttercup asked Butch with a huff, swimming to the other end of the pool to hoist herself up onto a floaty.</p><p>"Whatever, I'm too tired for this shit anyway," Butch replied before diving into the cool water.</p><p>He shortly emerged with a surprised look on his face. “Holy shit, it’s even heated to the perfect temperature!” </p><p>“Jesus! Got any more painfully obvious comments you’d like to share?!” Buttercup asked in an angry tone. Butch at this point was fed up with her constant rebuttals so he decided to get a little payback.</p><p>Butch quietly swam over to Buttercup who had finally closed her eyes as she laid on top of the inner-tube. He tried to suppress his laughter as he swam underneath the tube and suddenly lifted one side of it up, causing the Green Puff to fall into the water with a scream. Butch howled with laughter as he watched his counterpart struggle to wipe away the water from her eyes.</p><p>“YOU ASSHOLE!” Buttercup screamed as she shot out of the water and grabbed the flipped-over inner-tube before hitting Butch over the head with it.</p><p>“Ow! Geez! You were acting like a bitch earlier so this is payback!” Butch cried as he got hit. Suddenly it was like a switch flipped. He even heard a fearful noise from behind him that sounded like it belonged to Bubbles.</p><p>Buttercup had stopped what she was doing and grabbed Butch by the neck, slamming his head against the side of the pool.</p><p>“OW! Fuck! What gives Butters?” He looked back up at her, expecting to see her usual pissed-off face, but the face she was making now was filled with pure rage. Her eyes were piercing and her teeth were clenched.</p><p>“You call me that word again and I will end you. Got it?” Buttercup threatened. Butch knew she wasn’t joking. He nodded slightly and felt himself breathe a sigh of relief once she let go. Who knew she could be so scary… over such a stupid word.</p><p>“Alright, whatever. I was just kidding around,” Butch rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.</p><p>“I don’t give a shit whether you meant it or not,” Buttercup growled as she swam back towards her sister who had a worried expression on her face.</p><p>“You okay, Buttercup?” Bubbles asked as her sister got out of the pool and walked back towards the house. Butch watched her too and even felt a twinge of something, but it went away as soon as he noticed it.</p><p>“Yeah, I just need some water.”</p><p>---</p><p>Buttercup went to the fridge and poured herself another glass of lemonade before downing it quickly. As she drank she noticed that her heartbeat had also started going down. Had it been beating fast? Then again, Buttercup hadn’t gotten that angry at anyone in a while. </p><p>Sure, Butch pushed her buttons a lot, but there was one button he couldn’t push more than once without getting a serious beating. How could he be so ignorant?</p><p>As Butters began to think back on it, something unpleasant happened. A memory resurfaced. It was a bad memory she had spent years repressing, so she decisively shook it away and distracted herself by her phone. </p><p>Scrolling through, she noticed that she had been added to a group chat by the varsity soccer team now that they were all planning on having summer practices together to get ready for the season. Buttercup had reluctantly decided to try out last semester since she knew being on the boys' football team for longer than a season would lead to more fights than she had the energy for.</p><p>As she scrolled through the chat, reacting to some of the stupid questions the freshman were asking about equipment, she got a notification from an unknown number. <em>Huh, that’s weird. I thought I blocked unknown numbers from texting me…</em> Before she had the chance to open the message, however, she was interrupted by her younger sister’s voice.</p><p>“Are you coming back out?” Buttercup turned around to face a worried Bubbles.</p><p>“Uh… I’m probably going to take a break for a while.”</p><p>“I’m sorry about what Butch said. I told him off after you left. I think he feels bad about it.”</p><p>"I doubt anything could make that idiot feel bad, but thanks anyway," Buttercup said bitterly.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Nothing.”</p><p>“Oh… ” Bubbles replied quietly. She silently opened her mouth a few times as she debated on what to say. Buttercup beat her to it.</p><p>“I think I’m going to have summer practice with my team when we get back from this.”</p><p>“Oh, you ended up trying out? I thought you decided you were done with soccer though.” </p><p>“I just needed a break from it.”</p><p>“Well, I’m happy that you’re getting back into it. I always thought soccer was your best sport. Remember when that super famous university scouted you back in like sophomore year? That was crazy!”</p><p>“I know, haha. But now that my grades are all over the place, I figured I may as well try getting into a college for soccer since it’s all I really have going for me.”</p><p>“I mean…” Bubbles trailed off, clearly thinking about something.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“No, nothing. I just worry that if you go to a school just for soccer you might not end up studying something you’re passionate about. What if the school doesn’t have a program you’re interested in?”</p><p>“Why are you worried about this? It’s not like it’s your life.”</p><p>"I know. I just don't want you to feel like sports are your only option for college. You have other talents that you could go to school for…" Buttercup quickly tensed up, realizing what her sister was implying.</p><p>“Don’t go there.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Don’t play dumb, Bubbles.”</p><p>“Look, if this has to do with the stuff that happened sophomore year-”</p><p>“It doesn’t.”</p><p>“Well, we never really talked about it, so I feel like-”</p><p>“Because it hurts to talk about! Jesus, Bubbles, could you please stop trying to bring it up every five seconds? It’s exhausting,” Buttercup snapped. Bubbles nodded silently and looked down at her feet. </p><p>“...I think I’m going to go watch a show in the living room if you want to join me,” Bubbles quietly offered.</p><p>“You’re done with the pool?” Buttercup asked.</p><p>“It’s no fun if you’re not there,” Bubbles said in a defeated tone. Buttercup sighed and went back to look at her phone. Bubbles seemingly got the picture as she slowly walked away towards the living room.</p><p>Buttercup felt a little bad but she needed the conversation to end. Bubbles tended to pry about these kinds of things and wouldn't let up until either Buttercup snapped or one of them ended up in tears. It was for the best.</p><p>---</p><p>Of everyone in the house, Brick was the most determined to make the most of his time and be productive. He had been up since six that morning since his body never let him sleep past seven. Thus, Brick started his morning by making coffee, catching up on the news, and looking up how close the nearest town was. </p><p>The house they were staying in was part of a collective community of fancy cabin-like houses in the woods and Brick noticed there were tons of hiking trails and paths to walk so naturally he was curious about getting a feel for where everything was. As he started his walk, he passed by a few houses, none of them were quite as big as the home he was staying in, but they were beautiful homes nonetheless. </p><p>An old couple eventually passed him on his way and greeted him. They were decked out in hiking gear and were walking their dog who curiously approached the Red Ruff before being pulled away by his owners. Brick gave a small polite smile to the couple before carrying on. He could be pleasant when he wanted to be, especially to chill old people. </p><p>Brick continued to walk around for a while before heading back. He ended up making it to the small town and had made a basic map in his head of where everything was, taking note of street signs and distinguishing features. The way back was much faster since Brick knew where he was going, so he decided to officially make this his jogging route for the week.</p><p>He got back to the house around ten and saw that the Puffs and his brother were already in the pool. It was damn hot out so he didn't blame them, but nonetheless, he made his way inside, deciding to write down his route so he could remember it better. Upon entering, he noticed that someone had made bacon… or what looked like bacon. Judging by the texture and smell it was some kind of weird vegan food or something. Was Bubbles vegan?</p><p>Brick pondered this for a moment upon remembering that he had promised to cook dinner that night. Why had he agreed? What if Bubbles was vegan?! That threw out his entire meal plan!</p><p><em>Whatever, I’ll just do the damn dish and make a separate bowl without chicken just to be safe. If she’s vegan I’ll just play dumb.</em> Satisfied with his plan, Brick trekked to his room and began typing on his laptop.</p><p> After what only seemed like ten minutes, Brick looked at the clock and was shocked to see it read 3 pm! Brick closed his laptop and got up, deciding to go outside. Sure, the A/C was nice, but Brick hadn't been to a pool in years and by now the Puffs were probably back inside. Brick had put on his swim trunks and, at the last minute, decided to bring his laptop along. If for some reason the girls were still there, at least he'd have an excuse not to talk to them.  </p><p>To his relief, however, Brick found the pool empty save for a few colorful floaties and inner tubes. He made his way down the concrete steps of the house before opening the small metal gate to enter the pool area. He quickly took off his shirt and dove into the refreshing water. It felt amazing. </p><p>Being in the water reminded him of the times he and his brothers used to go to the beach when they were younger. Usually, it was to cause mischief, but sometimes they'd actually find themselves swimming and goofing off.</p><p>Brick missed those days occasionally but tended not to dwell on them since there wasn't much point. The past is the past.</p><p>Brick continued to swim for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet now that everyone was back inside. This peace was suddenly halted, however, when he heard a familiar voice.</p><p>“Oh.” He heard her say awkwardly before hearing the shuffle of her feet followed a loud scraping noise. Brick quickly turned his head and was surprised to see Blossom keeled over, holding one of the posts of the gate to steady herself. Her other hand was around her knee which looked like it was bleeding. Did she trip?</p><p>“You okay?” Brick heard himself ask. <em>The hell, Brick? Who gives a shit?</em></p><p>“Yeah. Just tripped,” Blossom replied, inspecting her wound. Brick noticed she was wearing her bathing suit. <em>Had she not gone in the pool earlier?</em></p><p>Blossom stood up and turned to face him. Her face was flushed and blood was dripping down her leg. </p><p>“Uh…”</p><p>“It’s fine, Brick,” Blossom said curtly before turning quickly on her heel. Was she going to stay inside? Brick hoped that was the case as he got out and sat on the edge of the pool.</p><p>---</p><p>Blossom entered the house in a hurry and ran to her room to get the first aid kit out of her bag. Being the leader of the Powerpuffs definitely had its perks, especially in terms of preparedness. She quickly washed her wound out with water and dabbed some antiseptic on it which caused her to wince. Eventually, she placed a bandage on it and sighed as the pain dulled. That was embarrassing. Blossom noticed her face still felt hot. Of all the people she could have tripped in front of, why him? What was he even doing there by himself? Who goes swimming alone?! </p><p>Blossom angrily pondered this as she grabbed a book from her bag and headed back downstairs. She decided to sit in the living room and wait until either someone else went into the pool or Brick got out. She watched him casually from behind the windows. He was sitting on the edge of the pool kicking the water with his feet. <em>A literal child.</em> Blossom rolled her eyes and began reading her book. </p><p>As time went by, however, it looked like the Red Ruff wasn’t planning on going anywhere any time soon. From the looks of it, he was typing on his laptop, fully engrossed in whatever he was doing. Blossom had had enough. This is ridiculous. It’s going to get cold outside soon!</p><p>In a moment of desperation, Blossom weighed her options. On one hand, she could go out there and hope that he’d honor their agreement and leave. On the other, she could stay inside and go to the pool another day. However, she knew that the weather would be unpredictable for the rest of the week and she tended to only go into pools when it was above eighty degrees out. </p><p>
  <em>What am I doing?!</em>
</p><p>Soon Blossom found herself walking down the concrete steps towards the pool. It was nearing four o’clock and it was already getting noticeably cooler out. Blossom didn’t even know why she was going out there at this point. Maybe it was because she had been looking forward to the pool since last night. Or maybe it was because she hated the fact that she was being kept from doing something basic, like swimming, because of someone she didn’t like.</p><p>Regardless of the reason, here Blossom was, standing just a few feet away from her lifelong enemy. As she opened the gate it made a loud creaking noise that allotted Brick the excuse to look up from whatever he was doing.</p><p>Blossom hated awkward silences more than anything. She felt her shoulders tense the longer she stood there. He had a hard, cold gaze that she tried her best to copy. Now that she was here, there was no way she was going to back down. It kind of reminded her of a stand-off in an old Western movie. </p><p>Eventually, Brick raised an eyebrow, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Blossom really wasn’t sure what to do either. Should she stay there and swim in silence? Should she just get out and leave? Both options sounded terrible and awkward, but sometimes the hardest decisions were the right ones.</p><p>In a ballsy power move, Blossom confidently walked towards the water and waded in. As soon as she did Brick stood up. He seemed to have a similar dilemma as he stared at the ground in silence, formulating a plan in his head. </p><p>However, just when Blossom thought she’d won, Brick decisively sat down on a nearby chair and went back to his computer. This caused Blossom’s blood to boil.</p><p>“What are you doing?” She suddenly asked with her arms crossed.</p><p>“Why do you care?”</p><p>“You’ve been out here for like an hour. Why can’t you let other people use the pool?” Brick made a confused look as he scanned the pool.</p><p>“Since when was I stopping anyone?”</p><p>“We made an agreement, Brick.”</p><p>“Which you’re apparently breaking right now,” Brick replied in a cool tone. Blossom could even see a faint smirk on his lips. He thought this was funny, didn’t he!</p><p>“That’s not fair. You’ve been in here since like three o’clock!”</p><p>"Uh-huh," Brick replied in a distant tone, entranced by whatever he was typing. Blossom began to feel her blood boil again but took a few deep breaths to calm herself. <em>Come on, Blossom, you can do this. Don’t make a scene.</em> </p><p>“Brick, I’m only going to say this nicely once, so savor it. Please leave.” Brick only snorted at this.</p><p>“Did you hear me?” Blossom asked, getting angrier.</p><p>“Yeah, I heard you.”</p><p>"And?" Brick stopped typing for a moment and looked up at her with an ice-cold stare.</p><p>“I’m not leaving just because you want the pool to yourself.”</p><p>“Why do you even need to be out here?!” Blossom snapped.</p><p>“It’s too cold inside.”</p><p>“Then sit on the steps by the house!”</p><p>“Why sit on stairs when I have a perfectly good chair right here?” Brick still had an emotionless expression, but his tone sounded slightly teasing which only infuriated Blossom more. </p><p>“What are you even working on that’s so important that you’ve been out here for an hour?! Another terrible short story?” Brick remained silent as he continued clacking on his keyboard. Blossom splashed the water at him.</p><p>"Hey!" Brick cried, shielding his computer before shooting her a glare.</p><p>"Fine! I tried being civil, but clearly, you're too self-absorbed and inconsiderate to be a decent human being for even one minute."</p><p>“That’s hilarious coming from you of all people.”</p><p>Blossom bit back another insult as she waded through the water to head back towards the house. She couldn’t take this anymore.</p><p>“My knee hurts so I’m going back inside,” Blossom grumbled after drying off and walking towards the gate.</p><p>“Then why’d you come back out here?” Brick asked pointedly, catching Blossom by surprise. She clenched her jaw and spun around.</p><p>“Why do you care?”</p><p>“I don’t.”</p><p>“Great! Then you can shut up about it,” Blossom spat angrily as she opened the gate. </p><p>“Don’t trip again on your way out,” Brick called. Blossom made a sound of anger and slammed the gate behind her. </p><p>---</p><p>Bubbles was in a sad mood once Buttercup had left, but decided to try taking her mind off of it with a good show. It ended up taking a good twenty-minutes for her to figure out how to work the television since it was a modern model that Bubbles had never used before, but to her delight, she saw that it had all of her favorite streaming services.</p><p>After linking her accounts, she began scrolling through shows and movies, unsure what to watch. She considered starting a new show that a classmate of hers had recommended a few months ago, but it was supposed to be sad which Bubbles wasn’t really in the mood for.</p><p>Bubbles was about to abandon ship when she stumbled upon a title she hadn’t seen in years. It was a mystery anime that took place at a high school with an awkward love triangle squeezed in. It was one of her favorites, especially since the love triangle was so well-written and every scene was both torturous and adorable.</p><p>Bubbles had been meaning to rewatch it for years but was waiting to watch it with someone who had never seen it before. Unfortunately, a lot of her friends weren't too keen on the whole anime thing, so Bubbles resorted to chat forums and online fandoms to express her love for the show with strangers.</p><p>As Bubbles considered whether or not to press play, a familiar Blue Ruff passed by her peripheral view. Her heartbeat quickened and without even thinking about it, Bubbles called out to him.</p><p>“Boomer!” Bubbles covered her mouth as soon as she said it. Sure, he had been a bit friendlier towards her since coming to the house, but that didn’t mean he’d be open to hanging out with her!</p><p>“Ah!” Boomer jumped in surprise, looking around for the source of the noise. Bubbles felt her stomach lurch.</p><p>“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you couldn’t see me,” Bubbles apologized frantically, moving towards the startled boy.</p><p>“It’s all good. You blended into the couch so well, haha.”</p><p>“Yeah… sorry.”</p><p>“What’s up?” Boomer asked, cracking his neck cooly. Bubbles hesitated for a moment. <em>Is this... okay?</em></p><p>“Actually, nevermind. You’d probably have better things to do...”</p><p>“That depends on what it is, haha.” Boomer rubbed the back of his neck nervously which Bubbles found adorable.</p><p>“Well, there’s this really good show I was considering rewatching… It's a mystery show I saw a long time ago. It’s actually one of my favorites...”</p><p>“Oh, cool. What’s it called?”</p><p>“Aisukurīmu…” Bubbles responded reluctantly.</p><p>“What language is that?”</p><p>“Japanese… It’s an anime.” Bubbles winced when she said it, knowing anime was a big turn-off for some people. However, when she saw that his expression hadn’t changed, she continued.</p><p>“It’s really good. It’s actually the anime that got me into anime.”</p><p>“Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real anime before. Like, I watched a few cartoons in that style when I was a kid, but…” Boomer trailed off awkwardly. </p><p>“You totally don’t have to watch it with me if you don’t want to. I just thought it would be fun to watch it again with someone who’s never seen it before. None of my sisters like anime, so…” Bubbles felt heat rise to her face. <em>I shouldn’t have asked him. He’s going to say no and then it’s going to be super awkward. Ugh, why can’t I just keep my stupid mouth shut?!</em></p><p>Bubbles watched in petrified silence as Boomer looked around for a moment before making a small noise. She couldn't tell if it was a noise of affirmation or hesitation but tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible.</p><p>“Sure, why not,” Boomer finally said with a shrug. Bubbles’ eyes widened and her stomach did a flip. <em>Wait, seriously?!</em> </p><p>“O-Oh! Really?”</p><p>“It’s either that or sitting around all day I guess.”</p><p>“Oh. Okay, great. I’ll start it up then.” Bubbles said, trying to hide her slight disappointment as she walked back towards the couch and sat down. <em>Yeah, of course, he only agreed because he had nothing better to do… it would be weird if he didn't.</em> Boomer also took a seat, but sat on a chair a few feet away, watching lazily as Bubbles clicked on the show she wanted to watch. </p><p>The show opened with a high school girl walking through her empty school. She looked on-edge as she slowly made her way up the entryway stairs and down the hall, only to hear something creaking from the floor above her. Bubbles stole glances at Boomer who looked slightly bored by what was happening. She felt her hands clench, wishing the action would pick up so Boomer would stay interested. </p><p>The girl in the show had finally climbed the stairs and reached the end of the hall on the third floor. The creepy noise repeated itself, allowing the girl to realize that it was coming from a classroom. Wasting no time, the girl began yanking open classroom doors to find the source.</p><p>“Why do they always walk towards the sound?” Boomer suddenly asked, surprising Bubbles. </p><p>“Oh, because if they didn’t the plot wouldn’t go anywhere,” Bubbles replied jokingly. Boomer smirked slightly as he looked back at the screen.</p><p>“Are you sure this is a mystery show and not a horror movie?”</p><p>“I promise it’s a mystery show. I can’t handle horror movies at all. I mean I guess some are okay, but for the most part I can barely watch them.”</p><p>“I don’t mind horror movies… I just hate jump scares,” Boomer explained as he continued to watch the screen. The character had now made it to the final classroom on that floor. Bubbles and Boomer watched in anticipation as she began slowly sliding the door open, only to be met by a loud pounding noise that startled both of them.</p><p>“Ha! I always forget about that part. I promise the rest of this show isn’t like that,” Bubbles reassured.</p><p>“Heh, it didn’t really startle me that much.” Bubbles smirked at his response. <em>Suuuure it didn’t.</em></p><p>The character in the show finally mustered up the courage to fully slide the door open. Surprisingly, she was only met with an empty classroom. Just as she thought she’d been imagining things, however, an apparition suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, causing the main girl to scream. Boomer and Bubbles both snorted at this.</p><p>“See, it’s not that bad. Besides, every paranormal encounter is eventually debunked by the main character,” Bubbles explained.</p><p>“You mean that girl wasn’t the main character?”</p><p>“Ha! No, you’ll meet him in a sec.”</p><p>“Okay.” </p><p>The intro to the show suddenly began. Bubbles started singing along to the words in an exaggerated manner to get her counterpart to laugh. He did, slightly, but was more impressed by the fact that she knew every word perfectly.</p><p>“How many times have you seen this show?” </p><p>“Only once before and that was years ago. That’s why I’ve been meaning to watch it again,” Bubbles replied before going back to her singing.</p><p>“Wow, it’s impressive that you know all of the words to the song then.”</p><p>“Oh, haha! I mean yes it’s catchy, but I also speak a little Japanese so that makes it a lot easier to remember.”</p><p>“Woah. You speak Japanese?” Boomer asked, clearly shocked.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s actually why I like anime so much! Did I not mention that before?” Bubbles asked, color rising to her cheeks again. <em>Damn it, calm yourself, woman!</em></p><p>“No. That’s really cool though. How much Japanese do you know?”</p><p>“I’m actually fluent.” Boomer’s jaw dropped.</p><p>“No way.” </p><p>“Yeah. Watch this,” Bubbles turned on the English subtitles for Boomer as the first scene of the show started. Bubbles quickly turned away from the screen to face Boomer. The main protagonist started monologuing in Japanese as he got ready for school while Bubbles translated.</p><p>“Back when I first started high school, I made it my goal to always remain under the radar of my peers. Being average is the only way to get through life without putting unnecessary responsibility and stress on yourself. In fact, I successfully got through middle school without having to do any extra work by ensuring that my peers never even knew I existed .” Boomer read the subtitles of the episode as Bubbles spoke, almost every word was spot on. </p><p>"Holy shit, that's awesome! Also, this protagonist sounds like he kind of sucks," Boomer remarked.</p><p>“Yeah, he definitely acts unmotivated and introverted, but that’s what makes him so lovable! Oh my gosh, you’re going to die when you see him trying to flirt with the girl he has a crush on!”</p><p>"Heh, I'm sure," Boomer replied awkwardly. Bubbles nearly did a double-take as she saw a slight tint on his cheeks.</p><p>The show continued and soon the pair found themselves thoroughly sucked into the plot. Bubbles didn’t expect Boomer to like the show so much, but now that the love triangle had been introduced he was practically sitting on the edge of his seat.</p><p>The show was now exploring the beginnings of the ‘misunderstanding’ trope where one character misinterprets what another character says. The introverted main protagonist was currently trying to do something nice for the girl he liked, but it ended up coming off super creepy. He had done this a few times in the show now and each time the girl never took it as a sign of affection which was starting to get frustrating.</p><p>“Come on! Why doesn’t he just tell her what his true intentions are? They’re probably not even going to confess to each other until like the end of the show,” Boomer grumbled. </p><p>“I know right? But as frustrating as it is to watch them struggle, they have so many cute moments together that make it worth it.”</p><p>“But seriously, how dense can you be not to realize that a boy who constantly tries talking to you, goes out of his way to invite you to do things, and gets flustered every time you talk to him obviously likes you?!” Boomer asked, raising his hands in the air in outrage. Bubbles rolled her eyes. <em>You’re one to talk.</em></p><p>The show continued and pretty soon the main protagonist was solving a mystery alongside the girl he likes. They ended up going to a bathhouse for winter break with their friends and were in the midst of trying to solve a mystery. There was apparently a ghost that haunted a nearby cottage, but could only be seen at night during the winter months.</p><p>Eventually, it turned out that the owner of the cabin hung a kimono in the room which cast a shadow whenever the moon rose to a particular spot in the sky. Once the mystery was solved, the group decided to celebrate by eating snacks in their rooms. This led to the group deciding to play a game: Each player must anonymously write a secret on a piece of paper, fold it up, and place it in the middle of the table so that someone else can take it and read it.</p><p>The main protagonist wrote down that he had a crush on someone in the room. The girl also wrote down that she had a crush too. However, neither of them named who they had a crush on. When everyone took a secret from the pile and unfolded it, the main protagonist saw that the note he pulled read: "I have a crush on Sakura." It turned out that someone else in the room had a crush on the girl besides him!</p><p>“Oh shit! Wait, is it Takao?” Boomer asked, pointing to one of the other boys in the room. </p><p>“I can’t tell you!” </p><p>“Ugh, someone’s out to steal his girl! He needs to up his game and make his feelings more clear to Sakura or she’ll choose someone over him!”</p><p>“Haha!” Bubbles laughed, astonished by how much Boomer seemed to like the show. Once the episode ended, however, Boomer got up to leave. Bubbles was surprised by this as she knitted her brows.</p><p>“Let’s pick this up later… it’s getting kind of late.”</p><p>“Oh, okay,” Bubbles looked at her phone. “Geez, you’re right. It’s almost six!” Boomer gave a small nod in response.</p><p>“I like this show, though. It’s cool,” Boomer finally said before turning on his heel and walking back towards his room.</p><p>“I’m glad you like it,” Bubbles replied quietly as she watched him leave. </p><p>---</p><p>It was at seven-thirty that dinner rolled around, and to Buttercup's (and quite possibly everyone's) surprise, Brick had made good on his promise. A large bowl sat in the middle of the table filled to the brim with chicken and pesto pasta. Next to it was a smaller bowl filled with salad and a plate piled with garlic bread. Brick had even laid out salad dressings and silverware for people to take.</p><p>“Holy shit, a Rowdyruff made dinner? This trip just keeps getting weirder,” Buttercup remarked as she approached the table. </p><p>"Brick, this looks amazing!" Bubbles added in her familiar upbeat voice, causing Buttercup to roll her eyes. Brick looked uncomfortable at her sister's remark but nodded in affirmation nonetheless.</p><p>“Uh… you’re a vegetarian right?” He asked awkwardly. </p><p>“Yup! Why?” </p><p>“I wasn’t sure, so I made an individual serving without chicken.”</p><p>“Oh my gosh!” Bubbles gushed as she picked up her plate. “That’s so nice! Thank you so much!” </p><p>Brick gave a slight nod before filling up his own plate and sitting down. Soon everyone else followed. Blossom and Bubbles sat next to each other at the table while Buttercup decided to sit at the head of the table, as far away from Butch as possible. </p><p>To ensure they never made eye contact, Buttercup decidedly pulled out her phone and began looking through it, drowning out the awkward conversations her sisters were attempting to make with the Ruffs. As she looked through it, she remembered that someone had texted her earlier, but she got distracted during her conversation with Bubbles. She clicked the messenger app and noticed that the text started with the words, “Hey, Buttercup…”</p><p>Who could this be? A stalker? A fan? After a moment of debate, Buttercup reluctantly decided to open the message fully. Once she did, it took her a second to register what she was reading before her eyes widened.</p><p>
  <em>Holy fuck.</em>
</p><p>---</p><p>Butch had been real quiet since dinner started. He was currently picking at his food awkwardly as he listened half-heartedly to whatever Bubbles was rambling about, probably something about animals… she liked animals right? Ah, who cared. This conversation was too boring and one-sided for Butch to pay any attention to. Out of boredom, he found his eyes beginning to wander. First to Buttercup who was seemingly glued to her phone. <em>Probably still pissed at me.</em> Next, he glanced at Brick who looked just as bored as he did. Butch childishly tried sending him a telepathic message about how painfully boring the dinner was by making faces at him, but when that didn’t work, Butch just resorted to throwing pieces of chicken. </p><p>One of the pieces finally hit Brick on the cheek which sent him into a fit as he whipped his head around to see who threw it. Butch waved, but his wave faltered when he saw the flames in his brother’s eyes. <em>That’s gonna be a no.</em> </p><p>Now Butch was out of things to do to distract himself from the torture of making small talk. He could feel his ears beginning to pick up what was being said. Bubbles was saying something about kindergarten. Oh god, this is torture. Suddenly, something caught his attention. It was as if the universe heard his cry for help. Butch’s eyes fell on a very startled-looking Buttercup who was still glued to her phone. <em>What’s bothering her now? Did someone else call her a bitch online?</em> Butch snorted at this. <em>If that were the case she would have already thrown her phone across the room.</em> </p><p>Butch’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Boomer who stood up from the table, plate in hand. Judging by Bubbles’ confused expression he had probably cut her off mid-sentence. Too bad Butch wasn’t listening to what was actually being said by the Blue Puff. Eh, probably wasn’t important. </p><p>“I’ll help clean up,” Boomer said suddenly as he left the table and began rinsing his dishes in the sink. </p><p>"Thanks," Brick replied as he joined his brother. Everyone else placed their dishes next to the sink and went their separate ways. Butch, however, noticed that Buttercup had gone outside to sit on the front steps. He figured Buttercup was still mad at him, but he really wanted to play basketball again and knew no one else would be as fun to play with... Also, he felt a little bad about what happened… kind of.</p><p>---</p><p>Butch made his way outside and noticed that Buttercup was responding to a text on her phone. He was barely able to read the name of whoever she was texting before Buttercup turned off her phone and turned to look at Butch.</p><p>“Can I help you?” She asked in an annoyed tone. Butch rolled his eyes. </p><p>“I was just gonna ask if you wanted to play some basketball, but since you’re still clearly in a shitty mood, nevermind,” Butch said with a huff. To his surprise, however, Buttercup’s face softened slightly.</p><p>“I mean… I’m always up for that I guess.”</p><p>“Oh. Cool,” Butch replied, feeling slightly awkward. <em>She’s acting weird.</em></p><p>The pair made their way to the basketball court and Butch grabbed a ball from the poolhouse to use. He decided to clear the awkward atmosphere by shooting a couple of three-pointers to get warmed up. Buttercup seemed distracted, however. She didn't seem to be paying attention to anything Butch was doing and was fervently checking her phone every so often.</p><p>“Are we playing or what?” Butch asked, chucking the ball to the distracted Green Puff. She caught it without even looking and glared up at him with her sharp green eyes. </p><p>“What do you think dumbass?” Buttercup asked before shooting off towards the hoop. Butch barely had time to guard her before she went for a dunk and scored the first point. </p><p>“Ha!” Buttercup didn’t have much time to celebrate though as Butch grabbed the ball and checked it before dribbling past Buttercup at lightning speed for a layup. Buttercup anticipated this and blocked the ball before it even left his hands. Butch was surprised at how ‘into the game’ Buttercup was despite her cold demeanor earlier, but figured she was probably just feeling really competitive. </p><p>Butch recovered the ball and began dribbling in the opposite direction before faking a shot, which Buttercup fell for. He then quickly spun around her to dunk the ball into the hoop.</p><p>“Boom! Two for two,” Butch gloated as the ball went through the net, sticking out his tongue. The pair continued to play for a while, with Buttercup matching the energy of Butch throughout the game. After a few rounds, however, her energy lowered again. </p><p>"So why'd you join the boys' Football team this year?" Butch asked, realizing she was getting distracted again. It was a close game and he didn't want to win just by having his opponent give up.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Just curious.”</p><p>“Oh. Uh, no reason in particular. It was just a new sport to try.”</p><p>“What other sports have you played?”</p><p>“Just soccer mostly.”</p><p>“Yeah, I can definitely tell,” Butch teased, firing Buttercup up slightly as she dribbled past him and went for a layup which he quickly blocked.</p><p>"Well, you're not much better than me."</p><p>“Says the girl down three points.”</p><p>“Whatever dude,” Buttercup replied, shooting a jump shot which Butch failed to block. </p><p>“So why’d you stop playing soccer?” Butch eventually asked after a few moments of silent playing.</p><p>“Huh? Oh… just got bored of it is all.”</p><p>"How do you get bored with soccer? It's awesome."</p><p>"I just did. Now can we drop it?" Buttercup asked in a warning tone. Butch was surprised by her defensiveness but decided to back off. It didn't take long for Buttercup to lose steam again, getting distracted by a phone chime. She let Butch score a point on her as she pulled out her phone and began typing on it.</p><p>Her face was serious and her brows were slightly knitted. What is going on with her? Butch was getting tired of playing like this, and as much as he didn’t care what was going on in her personal life, he decided to call her out on it.</p><p>“Who’s Mitch?” Butch’s questioned seemed to shock Buttercup as she tensed and looked up. </p><p>“What are you talking about?” Buttercup asked, putting her phone away and ripping the ball out of the Ruff’s hands.</p><p>“I saw you were texting someone named Mitch earlier. Is he like your boyfriend or something?”</p><p>“No,” Buttercup replied in an annoyed tone as she sped past him and went for a jump-shot, only to be blocked by a determined Green Ruff. “And why the fuck do you care? Are you stalking me or something?” </p><p>“No, why the hell would I stalk you? You’re just acting weird, I dunno,” Butch replied, trailing off a bit at the end. <em>This is stupid.</em></p><p>"Well, he's not my boyfriend so you can check that off your creepy to-do list," Buttercup spat before making a three-pointer. She then chucked the ball back at Butch with enough force to throw him backward. Without wasting a breath, Buttercup swiftly turned on her heel and made her way back to the house. Butch was beyond confused at this point and couldn't help but think that he made matters worse than they were before. Something was bothering Buttercup, but whatever it was seemed to be rooted in something much deeper than the insult he called her earlier.</p><p>He just hoped she would get over it by the time their shoot came around.</p><p>---</p><p>After dinner Brick had helped his younger brother clean up before going back to his room to find that he left his swim trunks and a few towels on the floor. Not feeling like stepping over them every time he had to pee, Brick grabbed them and brought them into the laundry room. Once there he noticed that his siblings (save for Butch) had the same idea he did, but all of their stuff was either crammed into the dryer or left soaking in the washer. Brick groaned and begrudgingly pulled the dry clothes out of the dryer and into a basket before moving some wet clothes from the washer out of his way. All the while, Brick was thinking of ways to murder everyone whose clothing he had to touch. There were only a few garments left in the washer, a few socks, and something white. Brick picked the articles up before someone's voice caught him off guard.</p><p>“What are you doing?” It was her. He knew it was. She sounded pissed so he instinctively looked at the articles in his hand to see what she was referring to. </p><p>“The hell does it look like I’m doing?” Brick replied before his eyes widened and he felt his cheeks get hot. He quickly dropped the white bikini bottom he was holding and looked to see Blossom’s mortified face. The pair stared at each other in horrified silence before Blossom quickly hid by going around the corner. Brick hit his head against the wall a few times before leaving the room. He’d do his laundry later. </p><p>When he left he saw Blossom pacing back and forth in a panic by his and his brother’s rooms. When she spotted him she froze.</p><p>“I went the wrong way,” Blossom explained, trying desperately to cover up her sheer embarrassment. </p><p>“Oh,” Brick responded. <em>What the hell am I supposed to say to that?</em> </p><p>“I… I’m just going to put my laundry in the dryer since you need to…” Blossom didn’t finish her thought as she walked past him. Her face was bright red. Why is everything so awkward with her?</p><p>“God this is going to suck,” Brick finally groaned out loud, snapping Blossom out of her trance.</p><p>“Yeah, well I’m not too keen on it either. You’re the last person I would want to be in a photoshoot with.”</p><p>“Congratulations.”</p><p>“You know what? Screw you. You don’t need to be so rude to me all of the time.”</p><p>“I could say the same thing to you. You’ve been trying to start a fight with me ever since we got here,” Brick spat, clenching his fists at his sides.</p><p>“Well if you hadn’t hogged the pool for like two hours we wouldn’t have fought in the first place!”</p><p>“Jesus! You don’t own the fucking pool! Anyone can be out there for as long as they want and I wasn’t even in the water for that long!”</p><p>“Fine. But can you at least admit that you knew being out there would make it uncomfortable for me to swim? Can we at least agree on that?”</p><p>“Fine!”</p><p>“Thank you,” Blossom said in an exaggerated tone before she went back to her laundry. “Also in terms of the photoshoot… Now that I know we can’t even be in the same room as each other, I have a few conditions. ”</p><p>“Conditions?”</p><p>“Firstly, I don’t want you touching me. At all. I don’t care if they tell us to, we’re not touching each other.” Brick scoffed at this. </p><p>"Oh, you're setting boundaries now? Okay. Fine! I don't want you touching me either!”</p><p>‘“Ha! As if I’d even want to! God, you have such an ego. Don't even look at me during the shoot!”</p><p>“Fine!”</p><p>“Great!” Blossom slammed the dryer door as Brick stormed off back to his room and slammed his door. </p><p>---</p><p>Bubbles had just grabbed a popsicle from the fridge when she heard yelling from the laundry room. <em>Oh lord. What are they fighting about this time?</em> </p><p>“Great!” She heard Blossom yell before Brick went to his room and slammed the door. Bubbles didn’t even have time to react before Buttercup also stormed into the house. </p><p>“Hey, Buttercup.”</p><p>“Don’t talk to me right now,” Buttercup grumbled as she walked to her room and slammed the door behind her. Bubbles was beyond confused at this point. Butch entered the house not long after.</p><p>“Hey, Butch. What’s going on with everyone right now?” Bubbles asked.</p><p>“I wish I knew,” Butch replied tiredly before he went to his room. Bubbles felt tired too as she bit off part of the popsicle. She pondered what to do before she heard movement behind her.</p><p>“Oh.” Bubbles heard someone mutter. She turned to see Boomer who looked like a deer in headlights. Bubbles raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Hey, Boomer,” Bubbles greeted. Part of her was relieved to see him though since he seemed to be the only person in the house that wasn’t in a bad mood. Bubbles decided to lighten their tension by making a reference to the anime they had watched together. </p><p>“Is it plugged in?” She asked, doing a terrible impression of a highschool boy. Boomer looked super confused which caused Bubbles’ chest to tighten and her cheeks to flush. <em>Oh god.</em> </p><p>“Remember...? From the show?”</p><p>“Uh… oh. Yeah. Heh,” Boomer replied awkwardly. <em>Shit.</em> Bubbles began mentally slapping herself. <em>I shouldn’t have done that. Why do I always do this?</em></p><p>“Um… okay. Sorry. I’m gonna just go,” Bubbles said, turning on her heel and walking back. Part of her prayed he would say something. Anything to make what just happened less awkward. But he didn’t. She assumed he was watching her leave with the same expression. Confused. He probably thought she was the cringiest person. A weirdo. Why did she even try anymore?</p><p>When Bubbles finally made it to her room she threw herself on the bed and laid there for a few minutes contemplating life. This wasn’t the first time she’d attempted to flirt with a guy and had it go sideways. But this was different. Bubbles was usually really good at telling when people liked her or not, but Boomer was all over the place.</p><p>At the beginning of last year, he really acted like he was into her, always talking to her, helping her with homework, and generally making her feel confident in herself. Now… he was acting like she was weird and annoying. It hurt Bubbles to think about. And as much as she wanted to stay optimistic about it, she knew he probably wouldn't change. And even if he did, would it even be genuine? Bubbles had given him so many chances to change his attitude towards her and he often led her on to think that he was ready to be more open… but every time he did, her heart would break that much more when he pulled away.</p><p>Bubbles hated games, especially when she was the one being played. She knew what she had to do… but she just hoped it wouldn’t affect the shoot tomorrow.</p>
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